Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he has “no difficulty” in meeting asylum seekers who are sleeping in tents in Dublin, but said he did not believe it would “change the situation”.
He said he was aware of the number of people who had pitched tents near the International Protection Office on Mount Street in Dublin and had “seen it with my own eyes”.
According to figures published by the Department of Integration, there are 1,260 people who have applied for international protection in the State who are still waiting for an offer of accommodation.
The Taoiseach said the Government was “doing all that we can” to find accommodation, and said that women, families and men with particular vulnerabilities were being prioritised.
There were 13,000 applications for asylum in the State in 2022, a 415 per cent increase in the number of asylum applications compared with 2021, and a 186 per cent increase on 2019.
“The situation is that we’ve had a very big increase in the number of people entering Ireland irregularly, it’s more than quadrupled since 2019, and that’s a very challenging situation,” he said.
“I would say to people who are thinking of coming to Ireland irregularly, if they are coming from a safe country where they have accommodation, we can’t guarantee you accommodation in Ireland. That’s very clear.
“We’re here in America where they’re facing exactly the same problems.
“So many people on the move in the world and if you are passing through a safe country or if you have accommodation already in that country, whether it’s Britain or France, we can’t guarantee accommodation in Ireland anymore, and I just have to be honest about that.”
Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore said the number of asylum seekers forced to sleep in tents on Dublin’s streets was a “shameful reminder” of the Government’s failure on immigration policy.
“For the hundreds of asylum seekers forced to live in such appalling conditions, this is no longer just a humanitarian crisis, it is becoming a serious public health risk.
“Lack of sanitation and running water has resulted in health problems for some international protection applicants, with growing cases of skin and respiratory conditions reported.
“I have now written to Minister (for Integration) Roderic O’Gorman, urging him to outline what his department’s response will be to this unfolding humanitarian crisis, a crisis that appears to be the result of deliberate government policy to discourage refugees from coming to Ireland.”
