Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that he has no “particular figure” in mind for what would be a “sustainable” number of asylum seekers Ireland could take in.
Last night during a press briefing at the Irish Farmers’ Association Annual General Meeting, the Taoiseach was asked what a “sustainable figure” was regarding the number of Ukrainians Ireland could take in.
“It’s currently around 500 a week,” said one journalist. “Do you want to see 100, 150…?”
“I suppose we don’t have a particular figure or target, as such,” the Taoiseach replied.
“Roughly 100,000 Ukrainians have come to Ireland. About 20,000 of those left, but 80,000 are still here. And we’ve been able to provide them with accommodation, education, health care, in many cases employment too.”
The Taoiseach went on to express his view that in years to come, people would be “proud” of what Ireland had achieved regarding asylum seeker intake.
“I think in 10 or 20 years time, we’ll look back on this and be very proud of what we’ve done as a country in welcoming so many people who’ve been fleeing war in Ukraine.”
The Fine Gael leader said that he expected the numbers of people coming to Ireland from Ukraine to fall as Ireland reduces its welfare offerings for Ukrainian asylum seekers to be more in line with similar European states. However, he stressed that the migration patterns remained unpredictable.
“We have brought what we offer more into line with what’s done in other Western European countries, for reasons we’ve explained in the past,” he said.
“And for that reason we would expect to see a certain reduction in the number of people coming to Ireland from Ukraine. But it’s impossible to predict how many that will be. And of course a lot will depend not on what happens here, but also what happens in Ukraine.
“…Let’s not forget why people are here. They’re fleeing a really brutal war in Ukraine. When we survey them and ask them why they come to Ireland, they list two main reasons: English-speaking, and it’s very far away from Russia. Neither of those things are going to change.”
The Taoiseach added that he hoped that Ukraine would win the war soon, so that the government could begin talking to Ukrainians about the “possibility of going home.”
“What I hope will change is the course of the war in Ukraine so that Ukraine can be successful in the war and the war will come to an end,” he said.
“And then we can start to talk to people here from Ukraine about the possibility of going home. But we’re not at that point at this stage.”
He also said one of the government’s “big fears” was that Russian President Vladimir Putin would use the cold winter weather in the region to “target civilian infrastructure” such as power stations.
“He is using migration as a weapon in this war, as well as energy, as well as food,” the Taoiseach said.
Asked about reports that fourteen people, believed to be migrants, had been found in a refrigerated truck arriving from France at Rosslare Europort in Wexford, the Taoiseach said he had only heard “some initial reports” and was “limited” in what he could say about the matter. However, he said that the government would try to facilitate “voluntary return home, if they’re willing to go home.”
“My understanding is that 14 people have been found in a container in a truck in Rosslare Europort,” he said.
“Our first response, as always, is a humanitarian one – to check that they are alive and in good health. And my understanding is that they are.
“Our next step now is to facilitate voluntary return home, if they’re willing to go home. And if they choose to apply for asylum, they are legally entitled to do that, and we’ll try and process the application as quickly as is possible.”
The deliberate and continuous conflating of Ukrainian refugees and illegal economic migrants by this government when questioned about immigration betrays the utter disdain they hold the electorate in.
It’s constant. The ease with which Varadkar lies is very telling about his character.
This constant conflating of political refugees, illegal immigrants and legal immigrants is part of the reason we are in this mess. The mainstream media are constantly at it as well. What the F has the war in Ukrainian got to do with economic migrants from Algeria, Ethiopia & Nigeria ??
It’s interesting because in the past it used to be the people opposed to immigration that would conflate different types of foreign people in a country but now it is the people IN FAVOUR of immigration that deliberately mislead the public about the different legal status of foreign nationals in a country.
If the EU countries and USA worked really hard to find a peace settlement and were not prepared to accept any people from Ukraine or give military support, it would have forced the government in Kiev to accept an agreement. This would have come with certain costs but nowhere near as costly as the huge loss of life, many with permanent injuries and a totally devastated economy.
Ordinary Irish citizens and those of other EU countries do not have the money to pay not billions or tens of billions but hundred of billions – perhaps half a trillion and more – for the reconstruction of Ukraine and repatriating of between ten and twenty million people. We did not vote for this war and so should not have to be bearing the costs. Let the warmongering politicians, their wealthy backers and activist supporters bear the cost. I and many Irish want to decide who we give our charity to and not be dictated to by our government.
This man is a clear and present danger to the social cohesion, stability and cultural and moral integrity of Ireland and must be removed, along with all the bovine like nodding stooges he surrounds himself with
He says (Putin) is using migration as a weapon. Well then we shouldn’t be taking them because that’s doing what Putin wants. If we don’t take them then we negate that weapon.
Nobody ever mentions North Africans, Nor Afghanis, nor Kurds, all from a culture that will never accept integration.and besides look at Sweden’s experience.!
Exactly
No-one knows what will happen in 10 or 20 years what we do know is in other countries where its been tried they admit it was a mistake and cost them huge amounts of money and increased crime. In some countries its like low level warfare. We do know that what Ireland would be like without mass immigration. One thing for sure is that the country isn’t happy and it will only get worse until we change the whole political establishment.
Leo has his eyes on the prize and that’s a job in Brussels, he couldn’t care less about this country, he’s the best boy in Europe.
Yup. Half Indian gay man with no kids.
No interest in the future of this country whatsoever. Couldn’t give a monkey’s.
I have never been as disillusioned with this country. I am absolutely shocked by the “mainstream media”, RTE, the immense size of the NGO influence, the pandering to EU bureaucrats, the completely and utterly illogical failure to limit welfare migration, the total lack of planning for the inevitable recession and corporation tax contraction on the horizon, the distain for the Irish indigenius population – need i go on.
I will never vote for any political party in this country again. The DUP would get more votes from me than any mainstream Irish political party.
At least the DUP have some semblance of integrity. If FF-FG survive this, the election will have to be rigged.
Independents and IFP are the only options for me.
Perfectly summed upon my own thoughts and feelings
Well tbf, you cant put a price of other peoples money on replacing the population, it is a very expensive business and the return will be made once the more amenable population cause carnage across the country and then wipe us out. Low iq’s tend to be more influential and reactionary to government who will agree with them more than the old native population. The only issue for leo is that its not going as smoothly as he thought and he was expecting more violence so that he could get his Marshall law in place but im sure his friends over in davos will have more great ideas and Hegelian dialects for us to deal with for when he returns. If I was a globalist communist dictator I would be very disappointed with the return on investment with what the three stoogies have failed to achieve. I did find it incredibly convenient though for helen to be rushing all the ai cameras legislation through for facial recognition and low and behold, all the ai cameras were already up in the urban areas. What an amazing stroke of luck for her eh!
He’ll be proud in 10 or 20 years time, because he’s not being put out by the influx of asylum seekers.
Seriously, it’s beginning to feel like they are being stubborn, acting like children – and running our country! they are changing the fabric of our society and culture because they are being stubborn. Words fail me
Ukraine will never win the war as long as the release trailers for their offensives. They genuinely do this.
Ukraine lost the war on Day 1, that began In 2014 with the US/NATO Coup using neo–NAZI thugs. The Ukrainians are but the disposable proxies for US/NATO expansion/encroachment on Russian territory.
The US/NATO war on Russia has failed miserably ,on all fronts ,be it weapn production/technology, energy, commodities,economic ,monetary. trade ,diplomacy and influence.There is a new Boss in town and Russia now is seen as a champion of the Global South. and as a viable resistance to the bullying hegemonic war mongering of the US.
This was displayed recently by the former French Colonies of Burkino Faso,Mali and Chad when they evicted their centuries old Colonists , knowing Russia had their back.
The defeat of Ukraine is a defeat for US/NATO, and history will show an epoch changing fatal miscalculation in world History for Western civilisation.
Arrogance , hubris , exceptionalism in many Empires has led to their destruction, by underestimating their opponent and so the Ukraine debacle has proved.There is no way back for the EU/US/NATO, with the German Industrial economy already ruined and the people in revolt. Whither goes Germany ,so goes the EU.
Unfortunately Ireland has tied its future to a declining power in the US/EU and must suffer the pain and costs of a bad decision by a low IQ insular Regime.
But do not despair Hollywood will make the Movie and Sylvester Stallone will win the war on Netflex.
Emmet you are speaking as if Ukraine has a chance to actually win the war. Ukraine never had a chance to win the war, western media have fooled you.
God help the Irish people. Our country is done and we have no way of getting it back. We are now well and truly one of the 27 states of the European Union. The flag is gone. The language is gone and our heritage is gone. So sad.
Yes Nick, our freedom of speech will be taken. our neutrality will go next, then 16 year old brainwashed kids will be voting on Election Day. It’s a nightmare
In 30 years time we will have 1 million Irish homeless people.
Good to know it’s just virtue signalling then…
Continuing in the vein of some previous posts by me on the FF/FG likely change of policy on this issue, has anyone considered the following possible “act of treachery” (by one of those parties vis a vis the other): say in FF there’s paralyzing alarm that they’ll face electoral meltdown because of uncontrolled migration – of course they’ll also recognize that there’s some in FG thinking the same way about their own party (FG, that is). In order to “steal a march” on FG – and keep the “vote getter” of clamping down on migration – to themselves, FF will suddenly do a “solo run” and use some of the few remaining conservative voices in the party to kick up a fuss – and hey presto – the top of the party then reacts favourably to those conservatives’ concerns – and, without consulting either of their Coalition Partners – unveils to the public their “new approach” (a “U-turn” in reality) on migration ! Call me cynical, but that’s the way the legacy political parties in this country work !!!
“When we survey them and ask them why they come to Ireland, they list two main reasons: English-speaking, and it’s very far away from Russia. Neither of those things are going to change.” – but you do think reducing the welfare payments will reduce numbers? so why do you think that tactic might work?
I awoke this morning Friday, and turned on the radio: I heard the tail end of a report from the ERSI saying that population rise was above expectations and that our climate policy will fail…. Can there be a better example of bad governance and our slide into unsustainability and chaos? Can there?
Varadkar boasts we are reducing our welfare payment rate to Ukrainians. Why were our welfare payments to Ukrainians out of line with the rest of Europe in the first place? Varadkar says they come here because Ireland is English speaking and we are far from Russia. So, if these two things mean we are already targeted as a destination by Ukrainians, why make ourselves even more of a target by offering one of the most attractive welfare payments in Europe? Especially when Varadkar knows the country already is overstretched with our own homelessness and health crisis problems!