Ciara Smyth of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the University of Galway has raised concerns over the “endless tinkering” of Ireland’s asylum system, reports Breaking News.
Commenting on planned reforms due to be discussed at Cabinet on Wednesday, “even before the print has dried on the old series of reforms”, Ms Smyth questioned “the common narrative” that Ireland was “inundated” with migrants, reports Breaking News.
“So what we’re seeing here really is a kind of an endless tinkering or reform of the asylum system, which in my view very much fuels the idea of crisis,” she told RTÉ radio’s Today with David McCullagh show, reports Breaking News.
“The numbers that we have this year are significantly down on last year. And, you know, even though we feel that we receive a large number in Ireland, our actual share of the EU total is just 1.8 percent. So we don’t actually receive huge numbers, but the optics of it and this constant talking about asylum as if we receive huge numbers gives the impression that the system is inundated and creaking and unable to respond,” reports Breaking News.
Ms Smyth also questioned the rationale behind proposals requiring asylum seekers to contribute to accommodation costs.
She said: “This policy, I find it a bit incoherent because one of the problems we’re having with direct provision is that even people that get recognised as refugees can’t exit direct provision because of the housing crisis, of course, but also because they don’t have enough money to get a deposit together,” reports Breaking News.
She added: “If you make it harder for local integration, you’re simply postponing the durable solution for refugees. And again, it’s kind of anti-integration. It’s preventing people from actually integrating into our society,” reports Breaking News.
Ms Smyth highlighted the distinction between asylum seekers and economic migrants, noting that the two groups are often conflated.
She pointed out that the number of asylum seekers is relatively small compared with overall population growth, reports Breaking News. .
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