Sir, – It would be of enormous service to your readers if you asked the Taoiseach to write an article to dispel the myths about asylum seekers that he keeps mentioning and for him also to correct the appalling communications failure of this Government regarding this contentious issue.
For example, here are some of the questions being asked by moderate, non-racist, non-xenophobic citizens.
Is they any limit to the number of refugees and asylum seekers that Ireland can accommodate, given the huge pressures on the health and education systems?
What exactly are our obligations under international law?
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What happens to international protection applicants who have arrived from countries with no history of war or persecution and who most likely are economic migrants?
What obligation, if any, have we to international protection applicants who arrive with no identity papers and who often have transited through other jurisdictions before arrival?
How can the Government contemplate spending ¤57 million on acquiring a building in Cork to house asylum seekers when this money could be spent on improving the appalling dearth of Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services ?
How much was the total spend on housing refugees and asylum seekers for the year-end 2023 and what offset was granted from EU funds?
What percentage of international protection applicants were unsuccessful and duly deported in 2023?
Ireland has an enviable record in generosity toward charitable enterprises and we also acknowledge that we have sent numerous emigrants to other countries over the years. Notwithstanding this, however, we do need answers to difficult questions like those outlined above to obviate the likelihood of further agitation by the far right. – Yours, etc,
GRAHAM WILSON,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – There is an ever-growing list of buildings associated with persons seeking international protection subject to arson or attempted arson attacks. In many cases, it was known locally these buildings were about to be used as refugee centres, and some were even the subject of protest prior to the attacks.
Am I the only one in the country disappointed with the apparent lack of operational planning displayed by An Garda Síochána to “prevent or catch in the act” these attacks which have been ongoing now for a number of years, before someone is killed or seriously injured?
The Taoiseach has stated that he has been informed that arrests are imminent, which is welcome. Now let’s see some creative thinking around crime prevention and reduction to best fulfil the Garda mission statement of “Keeping People Safe”. – Is mise,
MICHAEL CALLAN,
(Retired garda),
Dundalk,
Co Louth.
Sir, – A letter writer (January 18th) asserts that Ireland has no obligation to take in refugees as it has an opt-in or opt-out clause on individual proposals in the areas of security, justice and freedom through the EU Treaty of Lisbon. That assertion, even if accurate in the past, no longer applies.
The entitlement of refugees to asylum, in the context of international protection, is a universal fundamental human right, accepted as such under public international law and in the domestic laws of most countries, Ireland included.
No member state of the European Union, not even Ireland, can later derogate out of legally binding EU directives once entered into. If a derogation is not availed of, it ceases to be in effect. Put simply, if a derogating member state opts in to EU directives on international law, it is then in and fully committed.
The question of opt in or out is now legally moot. Ireland later enacted the International Protection Act 2015.
Ireland is also legally bound by Regulation (EU) No. 514/2014 of April 16th, 2014, automatically directly effective in Ireland, without exception or derogation.
Cognisant of Ireland’s international legal obligations under public international law, including universally acknowledged custom and practice, customary international law, Ireland did not avail of the derogation available to it under the Protocol to the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009.
Ireland later agreed to participate, fully so, in the EU relocation and resettlement schemes. This included and applied to settlement of persons previously settled or located in other EU member states deciding for their own best known reasons to come to Ireland. Having taken on these binding legal obligations, in community with our fellow EU member states, it would hardly be appropriate or even legally permissible for Ireland now to renege on these binding legal commitments on a unilateral basis.
The protective system for applicants for international protection is an important part of our domestic and international legal obligations.
The Government of the day is fully bound by these legal obligations.
Each and all of us, residing here in Ireland, have a legal and civic duty to obey and to respect these democratic laws. We have no opt-out and we ought to have none. A useful and more complete explanation of the legal position is set out in Refugees in Ireland, the EU and Worldwide, by Dr Caroline Sweeney, senior parliamentary researcher. – Yours, etc,
ANTHONY LAYNG,
Dublin 4.