Taoiseach Micheal Martin has defended the Government’s decision to temporarily suspend visa-free travel to Ireland for refugees from 20 European countries calling it a “wise move”.
The move comes as the country is buckling under pressure to accommodate Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war.
The suspension of visa-free travel does not apply to Ukrainians but to refugees from 20 other “safe” countries.
Read More: Irish refugee visa requirements tightened amid accommodation shortage
Mr Martin said: “We're not doing it forever. We will keep it under review.
“But given the circumstances that we are in at the moment, and particularly the phenomena of the last number of weeks and in respect of those seeking international protection, I think it's a wise move to take at this particular point.
“There has been a significant surge in people seeking international protection over the last number of months.
“There was concern within the Department of Justice in terms of that system so we have suspended it for 12 months.
“Concerns were raised about how this mechanism potentially could be abused by some and it's in that context, that that measure has been taken.
“We will review it, but it is linked to the recent surge of people applying international protection.”
However, the CEO of Doras, the non-profit organisation which promotes the rights of migrants, has described plans to suspend visa-free travel for people seeking international protection orders as “a worrying trend.”
John Lannon told RTÉ that such a move was “a knee-jerk reaction” to the problem of a shortage of accommodation.
The Taoiseach, speaking from Tokyo denied it was due to a lack of accommodation for refugees.
He said this is not something that the Government wants to do but said “we have to be realistic here as well.”
He said if the Department of Justice has concerns, then “we simply have to do it,”
He added: “I mean, potentially we will have four to five times the number of people seeking international protection this year compared to pre pandemic times.
“And also, we have a very significant situation in terms of 40,000 people fleeing war in Ukraine…those fleeing that war should get priority at this point."
Mr Martin, who has been critical of migration policies of outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former US President Donald Trump, said a situation in which the Irish Government has found themselves in does not make him sympathetic to what the UK and US has done.
He said: “We've been, for example, in relation to Ukraine, we've immediately very quickly introduced the protection measure to allow Ukrainians to come in without any visas to come straight to Ireland to flee a war.
“That's unlike what's happening in the UK at the moment.
“We wouldn't approve of the Rwanda policy, for example, in the UK, which potentially is having an impact on our situation now as well.
“But the war has put exceptional pressures on our system and on the whole of the European Union as a continent in terms of the numbers going to Poland, for example, the Eastern countries and right across Europe so this is an unprecedented situation we are in and it's an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
“The worst we've seen since World War Two and the amount of displacement is shocking.”
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