The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell, was "clearly incorrect" in her analysis of the Government's policy on asylum seekers, the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, said last night.
Reacting to her description of the State's handling of the issue as "a shambles", Mr MrCreevy said that, while her remarks "certainly would get you good headlines" and would go down well with certain people, "the reality is somewhat different".
Speaking on RTE's Questions and Answers, he said: "the Minister is clearly incorrect in what she has been saying. She has not been the Minister responsible for this particular area, and John O'Donoghue as Minister for Justice has been doing his very best with this problem, and . . . [until] we came into Government this problem had not been addressed at all."
He said "the problem had more or less been solved" by June/July last after extra staff had been recruited to process asylum applications. However, the number of applicants had since "shot up again" for two reasons.
First, he said, in a reference to the PD-sponsored initiative to introduce work permits for asylum seekers, "the impression went abroad to the people illegally trafficking in those people that if you came to Ireland you automatically had the right to work."
Second, the British government's decision to introduce welfare vouchers rather than cash payments from April 1st next had encouraged more people to come here.
He said the Government did not have a problem with people coming to the State and seeking work through established channels. "But where I do have a problem is people who say overnight the Government must open up its borders to everyone."
