Jim O’Callaghan TD: The case for more international protection offices

In Ireland, we seldom acknowledge our achievements. One achievement that merits recognition is how the country has integrated people who have migrated here during the past 25 years, writes Fianna Fáil justice spokesperson and TD for Dublin Bay South, Jim O’Callaghan.

Since the Great Famine, our population continuously declined until the end of the last century. We then changed from being a country from which people migrated to one where people wanted to come and live.

People who have migrated to Ireland have, in general, integrated very well and have adopted and absorbed many aspects of our culture and heritage. Our sports have prospered because of the arrival of people who have made Ireland their home and who have encouraged their children to play sport. The Irish language has also been readily adopted and learned by those same children.

Unlike other countries, we have not, and should not, permit the establishment of enclaves that are predominantly occupied by one ethnic group. Instead, those who have set down their roots in Ireland have integrated, and been integrated, throughout our society.

Although we have handled integration and immigration well, it is noticeable that in the past two years tensions have arisen. Centre ground political parties must acknowledge and talk about this as otherwise it will become a talking point that is the preserve of the extremes.

The main reason for this tension can be traced to the absence of sufficient accommodation for persons coming into Ireland seeking international protection. This tension has not existed in respect of migrants who have come to work here from other EU countries or on work visas. The visible presence of large numbers of people residing in tents on public streets has given rise to much concern.

In my own constituency of Dublin Bay South, many tent encampments have developed in the vicinity of the International Protection Office on Mount Street and along the canal. Although residents of the inner city are very sympathetic to the plight of the people in tents, they nonetheless have legitimate concerns about the dangers associated with large numbers of people encamping on public streets. The consequent barricading of the streets, canal banks, and parks in the vicinity of the office with steel fencing is indicative of a system that is not working.

Part of the reason why so many people pitched tents near the office was because, at the time, it was the only place in the country where persons could apply for international protection. That has now changed with the establishment of another application office in City West. Nonetheless, most applicants still must physically come to Mount Street to apply for international protection. As a result of the increased number of applicants, many of those making their applications cannot be provided with immediate accommodation.

The office on Mount Street is demonstrably not capable of processing the large numbers that continue to arrive on a weekly basis. It is for that reason that I proposed that the application process, as in other countries, be decentralised to multiple further locations. That would enable the physical processing of applications in a more expedited and appropriate environment.

Consideration should also be given to the introduction of more technologically advanced methods of applying for international protection, rather than requiring applicants to turn up physically at a busy city centre location.

The numbers seeking international protection have increased very significantly in recent years. In May 2024, Ireland became the recipient of the highest number of international protection applicants in the EU on a per capita basis. Part of the response to that challenge, aside from the designation of safe countries and the introduction of expedited processes, must be the creation of more application offices distributed across the country.