Ireland could easily double its intake of migrants over the next two years, according to Barry Andrews, the chief executive of aid agency Goal.
Mr Andrews called on the Government to increase its intake of Syrian and Eritrean migrants, which is set at 600 people over the next two years.
Speaking to The Irish Times, Mr Andrews said: “I think we could easily double that figure and I would not be surprised if we saw that happen.”
Asked where an increased intake of migrants might be placed here considering our homelessness crisis, Mr Andrews replied: “The homeless crisis is a profound and complicated one and to conflate it with the issue of the migrant crisis would be dangerous.
“The issue of homelessness involves social housing, and if we were to wait to fix that we would never take part in aiding a refugee crisis. To put the two issues in competition creates fear and an unnecessary mix-up of national and international issues.
“If international solidarity is to mean anything, conflating those two issues would not be helpful for the development of policy”.
‘Funding obligations’
Mr Andrews called on Irish politicians to put pressure on the international community as a whole to increase their funding in response to the crisis, saying Ireland had “met its funding obligations”.
Goal has also called on Irish MEP’s to put pressure on the EU and international community to “support refugees fleeing conflict” and to “stand in solidarity with nations hosting large numbers of Syrian refugees”.
Mr Andrews said more EU states should follow Germany and Sweden’s lead; two countries whom he says “have done a lot more than others to ease the crisis”.
Speaking about the Mediterranean rescue efforts of the LÉ Eithne and the LÉ Niamh, Mr Andrews said the Naval Service has “excelled in the recovery operation and deservedly attracted international acknowledgement for that”.
The Immigrant Council of Ireland has called on the Government to extend the Naval Service’s rescue efforts in the Mediterranean.
“While there has been praise for the Irish response to the current crisis it is not a time for us to reduce our efforts to save people who are in immediate danger on the high seas,” it said.
“We will be asking that the Government would place the extension as a priority issue . . . As the weather deteriorates over the autumn our ships will be needed more than ever.”
