Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has come out swinging on migration. Last week marked the notably public deportation of 39 Georgians, including five children. There was an unsettling, theatrical element to the events, the second such deportation in the Government’s first 100 days.
On the first occasion, cameras followed the convoy of deportees down the motorway, later broadcasting the footage on national television. Clips showed deportees arriving at the airport in prison vans, walking up aircraft steps, while Ministers wasted no time making public statements the next morning.
Although O’Callaghan noted that many members of the Georgian community “contribute to the economy and the cultural and social fabric of our society”, this kind of spectacle fits with his tough-on-migration stance and his apparent answer to Ireland’s asylum accommodation crisis. Deportations have remained a staple in the headlines since. However, while this style of performative deportation may be popular in Trump’s United States, the attention given to these stories is disproportionate to their significance.
According to a recent Government statement, only about 300 – less than 1 per cent – of International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) residents are subject to an active deportation order at any given time. This is a natural outcome of an asylum system where decisions, both positive and negative, are made daily.
People subject to deportation orders are not entitled to State support, and the Department of Justice admits many leave voluntarily without notifying authorities. The Minister himself acknowledges that enforced deportations are complex and costly.
International and ESRI research suggests the threat of deportation doesn’t deter people from coming. Restrictive asylum policies may influence the timing and route of migration, but not the decision to seek protection. So, although the recent drop in numbers may be politically convenient, framing deportation orders as anything more than PR spin is wide of the mark. Migration trends are complex and can’t be linked to one action or policy. This decrease, which began last year, is probably more reflective of broader EU trends and the hardening of external borders.
Meanwhile, around the world, the situations leading people to seek safety in Europe – conflict, persecution – continue, and the journey to Europe is increasingly dangerous. Last month, Irish lawyer Michael O’Flaherty – Europe’s most senior human rights official – raised serious concerns about pushbacks at the EU’s border. Calling this the most challenging time for the protection of human rights he had seen in his career, he urged centrist politicians not to concede to populism on migration.
This is advice O’Callaghan seems to have missed. Instead, the Government appears to be following the very trend of blaming migrants for problems rooted in decades of poor policy and underinvestment in infrastructure. Fine Gael leader Simon Harris was widely criticised last year for appearing to blame migrants for rising homelessness and now O’Callaghan has declared the driver of the asylum accommodation crisis to be “too many people seeking international protection who are not entitled to it”.
The new programme for government promised a system that was firm but fair. While the “firm” is loud and clear, the “fair” is not. In a rare mention of how the country will treat those people who are granted protection, the Minister stated: “We have to have a procedure which recognises that if you come in and you’re granted international protection, you stay, you are welcome.” It seems increasingly unlikely that anyone seeking protection in the Republic would feel welcome.
In Dublin, tent encampments are now a grim fixture of our streets. Most men arriving to seek protection aren’t provided with accommodation and instead live in unsanitary conditions that were worse than those in refugee camps in South Sudan, according to Olivia Headon, a volunteer speaking at an event hosted by the Irish Refugee Council. Society is left scrambling to fill the gaps, while the Government shifts the problem around the city, wastefully clearing away tents handed out the day before, and erecting expensive blockades. Those lucky enough to be accommodated face increasingly low-quality conditions.
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While only 1 per cent of people in direct provision have a deportation order, a recent report by the Health Information and Quality Authority found that 41 per cent of residents in inspected centres had refugee status or permission to remain, but were stuck there due to a lack of housing. These are people who have met the narrow legal definition required to be granted status and will remain in the State as refugees. They are officially acknowledged, State-recognised members of our society – colleagues, friends, familiar faces at the school gates – yet their lives remain in limbo because of a housing crisis that far predates the Republic’s increase in immigration.
Alongside the difficult living conditions, racism and discrimination are on the rise. Although the State bucked the European election trend of voting in far-right candidates, harmful narratives have not gone away. The results can be stark and frightening – racism, arson attacks on accommodation centres, and riots in our streets. Although a protest two weeks ago passed without significant incident, the sight of a Tricolour-wielding crowd chanting “get them out” does not align with a vision of a welcoming country.
While data show the increasingly hostile messaging from the Government doesn’t stop people from coming – nor does it build housing – its impact on an already fraught conversation is clear. Earlier this year, online influencer Garron Noone was at the centre of a short-lived but divisive controversy when he told his audience “the systems that we have in place are being taken advantage of”. When he briefly deleted his social media, the far right was quick to claim he had been silenced. Ironically, the truth is this opinion is not being suppressed – Noone was simply echoing the Minister.
Meanwhile, the challenges of building a fair system are not going away. Last month, the advocate general of the European Court of Justice issued a clear legal opinion in a case brought by the the Irish Refugee Council’s independent law centre: a member state cannot invoke “force majeure” to excuse its failure to meet the basic needs of those seeking protection.
In other words, the Irish Government cannot hide behind crisis language to avoid its responsibilities. While much faith is placed in the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum as a solution, it is no silver bullet – especially for long-standing issues such as accommodation.
We’ve seen where this path leads: increased division, ineffective policy and a Government more focused on strong headlines than practical, humane solutions. This Government should focus on real challenges rather than shifting blame on to people who, in many cases, are simply trying to survive.
- Madeleine Allen is policy and advocacy officer with the Irish Refugee Council. By Madeleine Allen, Irish Times
