Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has said Ireland’s rate of population growth is too high and the Government’s new restrictions on family reunification and citizenship grants are intended to reduce it.
Mr O’Callaghan said that population growth was a good thing and the Government wanted to see it continue. But he said Ireland’s rate, which was 1.6 per cent last year, was seven times the EU average and was putting pressure on services and State capacity.
Mr O’Callaghan was speaking at Government Buildings on Wednesday afternoon, as he unveiled new restrictions that have been agreed by the Cabinet.
The Department of Justice is preparing a national migration strategy that will set out the Government’s position on population growth, he said.
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The Government would seek to reduce the number of people arriving through family reunification procedures, Mr O’Callaghan said.
He said about 23,000 people came to Ireland last year through family reunification procedures, stressing that included the families of people who were here with work visas, as well as those who were granted asylum here.
New rules would require a “clear financial capacity to provide for their family members if they are to be granted permission to come to Ireland”, according to an accompanying statement from the department.
Mr O’Callaghan said that the number of people who come to Ireland seeking asylum was “too high”.
He said that more than 80 per cent of people who sought asylum were refused, and that on appeal between 60 and 70 per cent were refused.
“So when you look at the statistics overall, the overwhelming majority of people who apply for asylum and international protection are not granted,” he said.
“And I think that’s a legitimate reason for me then to say that the numbers are too high because too many people are using it as a means to come in when in fact they should be applying for work visas.”
He said his department’s analysis found that about 87 per cent of people who applied for asylum – or international protection – here were coming from the UK over the Border from Northern Ireland.
He said there were no plans to send asylum seekers back over the Border as the UK authorities were unlikely to agree, though they could be refused admission to the State.
The Government was also looking at restricting the number of student visas, he said.
The route to citizenship for successful international protection applications will be tightened, with the requirement for them to reside in the State for three years lengthened to five. He said that people seeking citizenship would no longer be permitted to be in receipt of social welfare payments.
He said the intention was not to bar anyone who has ever received a welfare payment from citizenship but to ensure that a person seeking citizenship has contributed to the country.
“Citizenship by naturalisation is not a right, it is privilege conferred by the Government on behalf of the people,” he said.
On proposals to require a contribution from people who are working and living in State-provided accommodation, Mr O’Callaghan acknowledged that people could end up being charged almost €1,000 a month to live in a tent provided by the International Protection Accommodation Service (Ipas).
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“If you’re earning money through work, you don’t have to live in Ipas accommodation,” he said.
Earlier, he said the Government would require people who are working and in State accommodation to make a contribution, but it would not “be distinguishing between the quality of accommodation provided by Ipas”.
Mr O’Callaghan said that immigration was “always a difficult topic” to talk about.
“But it is an absolutely important topic that needs to be responded to and addressed. I would be failing in my responsibility as a Minister, and the Government would be failing in its responsibility, if we didn’t take into account the extraordinary growth in the Irish population,” he said.
Nick Henderson, CEO of the Irish Refugee Council, described the proposals as “deeply alarming”.
“They severely undercut two key pillars of refugee integration: a clear route to citizenship and the ability to reunite with family. The Government asks refugees to integrate but is removing their ability to do so,” he said.
