The “vast majority” of Irish people would not like a Denmark-style asylum system, Justice Minister Helen McEntee has said.
The remarks were made during an Oireachtas Justice Committee meeting on the new EU Migration Pact, which the government says will streamline the processing of asylum claims.
Minister McEntee and others have consistently claimed that if Ireland does not sign up to the Migration Pact, the country will become a more attractive destination for asylum seekers and economic migrants, because our processing times will be slower than other EU states, and therefore false claimants will come to Ireland in greater numbers knowing the Irish system is less efficient than other parts of Europe.
“One comment you made several times is that Ireland would be more attractive to asylum seekers if we don’t opt in,” said Independent TD Marion Harkin during the meeting.
“I find that hard to believe. Denmark, which has a much tougher asylum system than we have, decided not to opt in.
“If the Danes thought that by staying out, it would make the country much more attractive, I suspect they’d have opted in. I don’t expect you to comment on Danish policy, but I don’t think we should neglect that fact.”
McEntee said that “Denmark doesn’t have an option to opt in” to the Pact, because “similar to the same way that we negotiated that we would have the opt in, they decided not to apply the asylum rules and regulations.”
At this point Harkin asked the Minister why Denmark would not become a more attractive asylum destination by not being able to sign up to the Pact.
“The question is, why are they not more attractive?” the Independent TD asked.
“If not joining makes us more attractive, why isn’t Denmark?”
“Denmark is a very different system to us,” the Minister replied.
“…It’s a system where people are detained. They’re not allowed to leave. You can look at what the reception conditions are like compared to ours…they’re very different.”
“Yet they operate under EU rules, Minister,” Harkin said.
“They operate differently,” McEntee replied.
“They have different agreements with different member states in terms of returns or take backs. But it is a fact that they detain people. They detain people in the same way that you would in prison. It is the rules that they apply.
“That’s the decision that they took, but that’s not the decision that we have taken. It’s not the route that we have chosen. And I don’t think the vast majority of people would like us to go down that route.
“That is [Denmark’s] decision – I’m not commenting on it good, bad or indifferent, but that is a very different system.”
“I understand that, but the still operate within the EU treaties,” Harkin said.
Notably, in 2023, Ireland (with a population of 5.1 million) received a total of 13,275 asylum applicants, while Denmark (with a population of 5.9 million) received just 2,455.
Meanwhile, according to Eurostat, Ireland ordered 8,840 non-EU citizens to leave the State between 2015 and 2022, whereas Denmark ordered 27,290 to leave during the same period.
According to a 2021 article by Berlingske, Denmark’s paper of record, “recent governments have carried out a long line of restrictions and tightening of rules for foreigners, reducing their rights to a minimum and trying to make Denmark seem less attractive to asylum seekers.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of the Social Democrats party has previously said that “the goal is zero refugees in Denmark”.
“That’s what our target is. Of course, we can’t promise it,” she said, adding: “We must take care that not too many refugees come to our country, otherwise our social cohesion could not exist. It is already under threat.”
Danish prime minister wants country to accept 'zero' asylum seekers https://t.co/UwNU0QhUpr
— The Local Denmark (@TheLocalDenmark) January 22, 2021