Between the first of January 2022 and the end of September this year, over 22,500 international protection applications were made in the state.
As Gript previously revealed in an article late last month, 77% of people seeking asylum in Ireland this year did so at the International Protection Office (IPO) in Dublin and not at a port of entry into the country like Dublin Airport.
According to figures from last year 69% of asylum applications were made at the IPO and not at a point of entry.
Speaking on the Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk, journalist Barry Whyte said that managers of direct provision centres had told him that “many recent arrivals” were coming to Ireland from other European countries, in some cases having worked there “for years”.
According to the managers some asylum claimants arrive in Ireland as “tourists” from other European countries with return flights booked, telling immigration officers that they plan to stay in Ireland for only a few days.
Others fly into Belfast or enter through the port of Larne before making their way to the IPO office in the Republic.
Figures for 2023 show that from the first of January to the end of September 8,906 asylum seekers arrived in the State with 1,249, arriving in the month of September and 1,152 in August.
Department of Justice figures show that of the over 22,500 asylum seekers who came to Ireland between January 2022 and the end of September 2023 only 30% made their asylum claim at Dublin airport with 0.4% making their claim at a sea port.
Speaking to Whyte, former Deputy Director of Military Intelligence in the Irish army, Michael Murphy said that the current situation where authorities ‘don’t know’ who is coming into the country could have “dire” consequences and raises serious security concerns.
Murphy described Ireland’s border security as a “weak link” saying that it could easily be taken advantage of by terrorists.
“If I’m a terrorist living abroad and running a terrorist organisation, and I want to get people into Europe I’m going to try to find the weakest link. And Ireland seems to be a weak link where we haven’t a clue who’s coming into our country.” he said.
“They don’t seem to be doing proper checks.” he said adding that countries like Poland and Hungary had not experienced terrorist attacks in the same way places like Spain, France, and Belgium have.
At a recent press conference, Justice Minster Helen McEntee said that deportations had been resumed but figures show that of the 1,144 deportation orders issued since January this year only 36 had been enforced with 45 individuals leaving voluntarily having been given notice of termination of their stay.