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Independent TD for Laoise Offaly, Carol Nolan has said that “robust measures” are needed to ensure that Ireland’s international protection system is “not open” to “abuse or manipulation” as it has emerged that Ukrainians are among those making asylum claims.
Her comments came as it emerged that up to 800 Ukrainians have claimed asylum in Ireland since 2022.
Of that number, 56 are reported to have made an application to switch from BOTP to asylum seeker status since August this year.
Ukrainian nationals were grated automatic protection in Ireland after the outbreak of the Ukraine – Russia conflict in March 2022 and designated as Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTP).
It was reported that the government was warned by senior cabinet officials that recent significant cuts to the benefits available to BOTPs from Ukraine could lead to a rise in asylum claims where international protection applicants have access to more government provided supports, such as paid accommodation, healthcare access, and free travel.
The officials warned that the situation “needs to be monitored and mitigated”.
Deputy Nolan said she remains “firmly convinced that robust measures are needed to ensure our system of international protection is not open to active abuse or manipulation.”
Nolan said that her position, “ holds for whatever category of people seek to do so”
She continued that Ireland can, “no longer afford to tiptoe around these issues and we absolutely can no longer afford to have vulnerabilities in our asylum system open to the possibility of becoming a long term trend.”
The warnings to government came during recent discussions on the reduction of payments to BOTPS, which as Gript previously reported, Ireland was previously the most generous of EU countries.
While ministers were informed that applications to switch from BOTP to asylum seeker are “not yet a significant trend”, they were warned that additional entitlements available to those in asylum centres is a “risk that would need to be monitored and mitigated”.
Representatives from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth voiced concerns about Ukrainians having enough supposts to pay for necessities such as laundry,personal care, medical expenses, education costs, and transport.
Last March, announcing that social protection payments would be significantly cut for Ukrianians living in state funded accommodation, Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphrys said the government wanted, “to make sure we’re giving people what they’re entitled to. Nothing more, nothing less.”
In December last year the Government announced cuts to payments for newly arrived Ukrainians which were to take effect from last March, but now the cuts are extended indiscriminately.
Ireland had been social welfare to Ukrainians under the temporary protection directive previously set at €220 weekly while other EU states and the UK paid between €7.90 and €131.45 per week.
As Gript reported in January, at the time Ukrainian refugees living in Ireland have received over €750,000,000 in social welfare payments since the start of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in early 2022.
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