Government trying to reduce asylum numbers to prevent 'breakdown in social cohesion' - Minister

James Cox

Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has said the Government is trying to reduce the number of asylum seekers coming to Ireland to prevent “a breakdown in social cohesion”. 

In an interview with The Irish Times Inside Politics podcast, Mr O’Callaghan said: "It’s a fine aspiration to say ... we can welcome into Ireland everyone who wants to claim asylum. I can’t. That’s not realistic. And I have to be careful that the numbers, which were exceptionally high last year − 18,500 people arrived last year − that those numbers are reduced as otherwise, we will have a breakdown in social cohesion. We will have tents on the streets. I know there are some, but we’ll have too many tents in the streets, and it’ll look like a system that the Government is not in control of.”

He declined to offer a number of asylum seekers that he believed would be sustainable.

Mr O'Callaghan also suggested a likely reduction in the number of foreign students who are permitted to come to Ireland to learn English.

He said 60,000 students came to Ireland to learn English last year.

“It’s very legitimate that people are coming here to learn English,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

“But also I think it is being used as a mechanism to come in to work … We’re going to try and tighten things up in respect of it. I suppose that’ll involve greater assessment of the English language schools in the first instance.”

Ireland's population is increasing at a rate of about 1.6 per cent per year, and Mr O'Callaghan said this is too high.

“It’s fantastic that our population is increasing for years in this country with the declining population. The reason the population’s increasing is because of the success of the Irish economy, because of the success of Ireland as a country. But we just need to be conscious that that rate of increase is very significant and is obviously putting huge pressures on other services that we provide.”

Addressing the immigration rule changes which have made family reunification more difficult for applicants, Mr O'Callaghan said: "I have to also take into account not just the interest of the individual’s concern, I have to take into account the general public interest as well.

“And obviously, if family reunification is ongoing and elderly parents are coming in, or younger children are coming in, the State is going to have a significant responsibility and cost and respect to those individuals.

“So, that’s why it’s important that people will be allowed to achieve family reunification, but you’re going to have to display self-sufficiency and that you can take care of them yourselves financially.”

You can listen to the full interview on The Irish Times Inside Politics podcast