It is “a fairer ask” that better off communities with adequate infrastructure would accommodate people seeking international protection in the State, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said.
In an eight-page immigration policy document published on Tuesday, Sinn Féin proposes tripling the number of staff in the International Protection Office (IPO) and increasing enforcement of deportation orders.
It also says that, if in government, the party would agree a revised bilateral arrangement with Britain to ensure people seeking international protection who should be processed in Britain can be returned there.
Ms McDonald said new accommodation centres should only be placed in areas with sufficient capacity and services to support them. She said an audit would take place beforehand, examining the level of access to services and supports in the community.
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“We are not talking about a veto. We are talking about respectful conversations with a community. That has not been happening,” she said. “We are talking about a process that would involve a local audit, that uses the Pobal index but also other data from the census and from the CSO. That has to be at the heart of this approach. For all of this to work, and it has to work, the issue of social cohesion and public confidence is vital.”
She said “some communities have been left behind for generations”.
Asked if she was calling for accommodation centres to be located in “middle class areas”, Ms McDonald said: “Obviously some areas, and you can objectively measure this, have better access to services, to infrastructure, they are better off. And yes, it is our belief that it is a fairer ask that centres be located in communities such as those.”
In relation to community consultation, Sinn Féin says it would create a “standard, transparent and consistent approach” which would include an opportunity for public submissions. The party said that while “emergency accommodation is not like a normal planning application”, it is “not an unreasonable request for a formal process of submission”.
Donegal TD and party finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said a full assessment factoring in GP services, school places and whether the area is disadvantaged is needed in communities that might host accommodation centres. “It is about identifying a suitable location through a pre-assessment of the needs of the community.”
Speaking about the need for faster decisions on international protection applications, Ms McDonald said the system needs to “work quickly, work well, where the rules apply and where fairness is paramount”.
The party proposes tripling the number of staff at the International Protection Office from 400 to 1,200, as well as tripling resources in the International Protection Appeals Tribunal.
The party has also said it would amend the International Protection Act 2015 to allow for “partial designation” of some countries as safe countries, which could mean faster processing times for those applicants.
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, Sinn Féin’s social protection spokesman, said this could see a part of a country designated as safe, and this could apply geographically or to certain ethnicities.
In relation to the enforcement of decisions, Sinn Féin proposes a “greater following up” on deportation orders to ensure that “people who are determined not to be eligible for international protection here in Ireland actually leave”.
The party also wants the Health Information and Quality Authority to periodically report on the standards of accommodation for international protection applicants.
The policy document also looks at what should happen when the Temporary Protection Directive, for people fleeing the war in Ukraine, concludes. It is due to expire in March 2026. The party has called for the Government to provide “a clear plan”, but said Ukrainians who wish to remain in Ireland should apply for work permits now. “If they are from a part of Ukraine that is unsafe, they could apply for international protection.”
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