Ireland would likely make a solidarity financial contribution under planned new EU migration rules rather than accepting a fresh quota of refugees in the short term, the Taoiseach has said.
Leo Varadkar said the country would not be able to volunteer to accept refugees who have arrived elsewhere in the bloc given its current difficulties finding accommodation for almost 100,000 people who have arrived from Ukraine and elsewhere in the last two years.
Mr Varadkar was commenting on EU proposals for dealing with future intense influxes of migrants into the bloc.
Attending the European Political Community meeting in Granada in Spain, Varadkar also reiterated his support for EU enlargement.
He acknowledged accepting countries like Ukraine and Moldova would come at a financial cost and would require reforms of the EU institutions.
Asked about predictions that accepting Ukrainian membership could result in a 20 per cent cut to the Common Agricultural Policy budget, Mr Varadkar urged people to take a longer-term view and look to the potential benefits of enlarging the EU bloc.
On the new migration rules, the Taoiseach told reporters: “I think from Ireland’s point of view it wouldn’t really be so much about taking a quota of refugees.
“We’ve accepted a huge number of people in the last year or two, maybe 100,000 people from Ukraine and other parts of the world, so I think we’re in a different place as a country now, really struggling to accommodate the numbers that we have.”
Mr Varadkar said Ireland would have the option of making a financial contribution to help other member states accommodate refugees.
“So, you can have the option of accepting refugees who are in other parts of the European Union, so they’re already in a safe place, or you can make a financial contribution,” he said.
“Realistically, where we are in Ireland at the moment is, having accepted over 100,000 people from Ukraine and other parts of the world in the past two years, I don’t think we’re really in a position to accept more voluntary transfers, not until we get on top of the accommodation situation.
“I think people understand that.
“That’s not to say that we’ll turn away people who come to Ireland, of course, we won’t do that, but volunteering to take more people is a different thing entirely.”
On EU enlargement and its potential cost, Mr Varadkar added: “I’m a strong supporter of Ukrainian membership of the European Union, not just Ukraine, also the Western Balkans and Moldova.
“And if you look at things in the round, if you take the broader view, the longer-term view, enlargement is always good for Europe, it helps to provide us with security, helps us to embed democracy and human rights, and also helps the European economy to grow in the round.
“So, I think it’s really important that when we look at these questions, we don’t see them just as a financial calculation.
“If Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans join the European Union, they’ll become wealthier in due course and just like Ireland they may yet become contributors to the budget.”
He said it could take 10 to 15 years for Ukraine to formally become an EU member.
“So by then the budget and the CAP will be in a very different place, I think,” he said.
“So I really would hope that we don’t create those kinds of fears.”
