Minister O’Gorman should come to Ballinrobe and meet committee - Mayo Aontú rep

AONTÚ Mayo representative Paul Lawless has called on the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O'Gorman, to come to Ballinrobe and meet the local committee, following protests over plans to accommodate 50 male international protection applicants in the former JJ Gannon's Hotel in the town.

Commented Mr. Lawless: “It's important to say that the people of Ireland want to help those who are fleeing from war and violence. The people of Ballinrobe have already successfully welcomed a large number of families. Ballinrobe is an exceptionally welcoming town.

“The plans to accommodate 50 males two doors from Nead na nÓg pre-school without any consultation with parents, the creche owners and the wider community is wrong.

“I spoke to one mother whose child attends pre-school who is very concerned. She showed me the smoking area of JJ Gannon’s which directly overlooks the Nead na nÓg pre-school. Another mother highlighted the fact that 60% of asylum applicants arrive in Dublin Airport without documentation, meaning their past history is unknown.

“The community has legitimate concerns, concerns that should be addressed by the minister. Minister O’Gorman should come to Ballinrobe to visit the building and meet the committee.”

He continued: “Immigration is being spoken about in houses the length and breadth of the country. Everywhere except the Dáil. It's incredible that our elected representatives are refusing to represent the people on this issue.

“The immigration system must be sustainable and manageable. Aontú has stated this from the start. In the 12 months up to April 2023, 141,600 immigrants came to Ireland, a 31% increase from the previous year. This is a figure twice the population of Galway City.

“The asylum application process in Ireland is broken. It takes years for the Department of Justice to process asylum applications, costing millions to the taxpayer, and when a decision is finally made the state does not actually carry out the decision of the process.

“The vast majority of deportation orders issued by the state are not enforced by the government. Effectively meaning there is no relationship, necessarily, between refusal of asylum or leave to remain and deportations. It makes no sense for the State to spend vast sums of money on a system to decide who is an asylum seeker and who isn’t and for the result to be effectively the same.

“Last year (2023), to the end of September, there were 903 refusals of permission to remain in Ireland. A total of 605 deportation orders were signed, with only 19 enforced and 99 voluntary departures. Meaning that just 19.5% of deportations were 'effected'.

“From 2018 until the end of September 2023, a total of 2,499 deportation orders were signed. But in the same period, only 232 people who were the subject of a deportation order were escorted from the State.”

Mr. Lawless added: “The government has no formal system at the ports and airports meaning the State does not even maintain accurate records. The self-deportation system coupled with a lack of checks at the ports/airports makes a farce the whole system.

“The Minister for Justice needs to enforce the decisions of her own department, end the self-deportation system and maintain proper records.”