One measure of the scale of recent immigration into Ireland is the sheer scale in the increase in spending by the Department of Social Protection on the so-called “daily allowance” paid to people living in direct provision centers in Ireland. These figures were revealed last week in an answer provided to Sinn Fein TD Eoin O’Broin by the relevant Minister, Heather Humphries.
The figures show that expenditure on daily allowances for those in the international protection system have more than doubled over the past three years from €13.05m in 2020, to a projected €27.24m to date in 2023. The Minister indicated that the figure would rise again in 2024, to hit almost €40m by the end of next year, which will mean that the expenditure will have tripled over a four year period:
It should be noted that, in the context of the state’s annual budget, these figures are a fraction of a fraction of a per cent: They amount to little more than about €8 per person in Ireland per year, out of a total Government budget which comes to about €19,000 for every man, woman, and child in the country.
In part, this is because the amount of the “daily allowance” is tiny: Because residents of direct provision centres have their meals and accommodation provided for them, the state’s spending on allowances is intended to amount to little more than pocket money: €40 per week for an adult, and an extra €30 per week for a child.
However, since these allowances are paid on an individual basis to individuals and their children, and since the amount of the payments has not increased substantially over the time period from 2020, the massive increase in outlays can only be explained by an accompanying massive increase in the numbers of people in the International Protection System.
And this increase in spending tallies almost perfectly with the officially recorded numbers:
Latest figures show that as of March 5th, 20,001 people were in accommodation provided by the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) – almost double what it was at the end of March 2022 and almost four times the figure in June 2018.
The latest figure also includes 4,096 children.
By any measure, this is an extraordinary increase in the demand on the asylum system in a very short timeframe. Which again poses a basic question: Is concern over immigration rising as a result of the increased influence of the so-called “far right”? Or is the influence of the so-called “far right”, rather, increasing as a result of growing concern over immigration?
The figures suggest the latter. While the political class continues to be convinced – in public, at least – of the former.