The government has come under fire from former Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman for what he sees as an effort to “minimise” the migrant issue, reports Breaking News.
From 2020 until 2025, Roderic O’Gorman, the head of the Green Party, was the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth.
During that time, one of his numerous duties was migration. Fine Gael TD Colm Brophy was appointed Minister of State for Migration, marking the creation of a new junior ministry by the government, reports Breaking News.
His entire position is ‘Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration,’ and he will share responsibility for migration with Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan.
In an interview with BreakingNews.ie, Mr O’Gorman said: “It struck me as if the Government, by minimising the role, they were going to minimise the problem that migration could cause this government. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. It’s almost as if nothing has been learned by the last three years when we all know that migration, particularly providing accommodation for those in the international protection system, was such a significant political issue,” reports Breaking News.
“I wish Minister O’Callaghan and particularly Minister Brophy well, I feel that Minister Brophy has been kind of dropped in the hot seat here in terms of being given the political responsibility for this issue but without the heft that being a senior minister gives to a politician. As challenging as I found migration as a senior minister, I could go directly to the various agencies whether it was the HSE or the OPW when there were issues. I could challenge other government departments, whether it was the Department of Housing or the Department of Justice, I could challenge them directly at Cabinet meetings or in Cabinet subcommittees,” reports Breaking News.
“Having that access, particularly access to the Taoiseach, is really important,” reports Breaking News.
Mr. O’Gorman added that the government program does not adequately provide for accommodations for applicants for international protection.
“I set out a system from March of last year looking to move on to State-owned accommodation, there is one line in the entire new programme for government about accommodation for international protection applicants. It just says ‘We will use fewer hotels and more State-owned land’, reports Breaking News.
“That’s it. It doesn’t go into any sort of detail, it doesn’t seek to address the barriers that have been faced over the last six months in trying to make State land available… no thought seems to have been given to it,” reports Breaking News.
Mr. O’Gorman called it “shocking” that the paper made no mention of Ukrainians residing in Ireland.
“There are still 65,000 Ukrainians in the State, about 35,000 of those are in private accommodation supported by the accommodation recognition payment. Another 30,000 in directly provided State-owned accommodation. That is 65,000 people and no word about them in the programme for government. There is a deadline coming up in March on the recognition payment and the Government has been absolutely silent about what it is going to do about that; is it going to renew it? Is it going to change the rate at which it is being paid?” reports Breaking News.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
