Ireland is “nowhere near” operating an ICE-style deportation regime, according to the Minister for Justice, reports The Mirror.
Jim O’Callaghan made the comments while discussing immigration on The Claire Byrne show on Thursday, after being asked whether it would be considered acceptable to remove people from the streets who are not entitled to remain in the country, in a manner similar to deportations carried out by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, reports The Mirror.
Mr O’Callaghan replied: “We’re nowhere near what’s happening in the United States.” He added, however, that individuals who are issued with deportation orders — including those who have completed the asylum process or overstayed their visas — are required to leave the State.
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He continued: “If they don’t leave voluntarily, we politely and peacefully force them to leave.” When questioned by the Newstalk presenter about the €1.2 billion cost to the State of providing accommodation for asylum seekers, Mr O’Callaghan said he was “introducing measures” aimed at reducing that expenditure, reports The Mirror.
Those measures include acquiring additional properties to “increase the amount of accommodation that the state owns”, although he said there were no plans to develop purpose-built accommodation facilities.
He said the State plans to buy more sites similar to Dublin’s City West Hotel, which the Government purchased last year for €148.2 million, reports The Mirror.
Mr O’Callaghan said the acquisition increased the number of accommodation spaces owned by the State from 900 to 4,000 last year. He also said it was “cheaper to buy” the property than to continue leasing it.
Mr O’Callaghan said the deal boosted the number of State-owned spaces from 900 to 4,000 over the past year and reiterated that it was “cheaper to buy” the site than to keep renting it, reports The Mirror.
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