New EU migration laws ‘not perfect but Ireland can’t do this alone’ – Irish MEP

The overhaul of the EU’s migration system “isn’t perfect”, but a change to handle an increase in asylum numbers is urgently needed, an Irish MEP has said.

Years of division over the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum appear to have ended after the European Parliament voted the changes through.

The new rules include controversial measures: facial images and fingerprints could be taken from children from the age of six, and people may be detained during screening.

The 27 EU countries must now endorse the reform package before it can take force, possibly in a vote in late April.

One of Ireland’s 13 MEPs, Barry Andrews, who is from one of the three parties in government, Fianna Fail, said he “wrestled with my conscience” on parts of the agreement.

“We are in dire need of a robust, efficient and streamlined system of processing international protection applicants,” Mr Andrews said.

“In recent years we have seen significant increases in the number of migrants seeking asylum in Ireland.”

The number of asylum seekers arriving in Ireland has increased significantly in recent years.

There were 13,000 asylum applications in Ireland in 2022, a 415% increase compared with 2021.

More than 100,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Ireland since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 – the same amount projected to arrive in Ireland over a 30-year period.

Amid a long-running housing supply and affordability crisis, the Irish Government has struggled to find suitable accommodation for asylum applicants.

According to the most recent official figures, 1,700 people who have applied for international protection in Ireland are still waiting for an offer of accommodation.

The shortage of accommodation has resulted in asylum seekers setting up a makeshift camp outside the International Protection Office in Dublin city, where they have slept in rain and snow in recent months.

“We simply cannot limp on with a system that is not fit for purpose, is riddled with inefficiencies and poses potential risks to our communities and to those seeking our protection,” Mr Andrews continued.

“Ireland cannot tackle this alone. In order to achieve wide-ranging and effective reform, we must work alongside our fellow EU member states and ensure a fair sharing of responsibility across the EU.

“The pact will introduce more efficient asylum procedures, a robust and fair management of external borders and stronger governance of asylum and migration policies.

“This pact isn’t perfect, and I have wrestled with my conscience on aspects of it. Ireland is a country full of welcoming communities who want to continue to help those in dire need but who also know that our current migration and asylum system is losing public confidence.

“If we were to wait until a perfect solution is found, the challenges we currently face will spiral completely out of our control. There is no such thing as a perfect solution.”

New Irish premier Simon Harris has pledged to oversee a “fair” but “firm” system to manage migration into the country.

On Wednesday, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee welcomed the new EU migration system as “a historic step”.

“It is a shared European solution to a shared European challenge. When implemented, it will ensure European asylum systems are cohesive, fair, and efficient.”

She said the overhaul will mean the time asylum seekers spend waiting for decisions is reduced which she said would “reduce the pressure on state provided accommodation”.

“The Pact’s enhanced screening and security measures will reduce irregular secondary movements of asylum seekers.

“This will be particularly impactful for Ireland, while the solidarity and responsibility provisions will assist member states most acutely affected by irregular migration,” she said.

Eve Geddie, Amnesty International’s head of the European Institutions Office and director of advocacy, said the EU was “shamefully co-signing an agreement that they know will lead to greater human suffering”.

“For people escaping conflict, persecution or economic insecurity, these reforms will mean less protection and a greater risk of facing human rights violations across Europe – including illegal and violent pushbacks, arbitrary detention and discriminatory policing.”

She added: “Europe has missed a vital opportunity to build a migration and asylum system that places human rights at the centre, and to unconditionally uphold people’s human right to seek asylum no matter where they come from or how they have arrived.

“This is a failure to show global leadership on refugee protection and building safe, fair and dignified pathways for people to reach Europe – whether in search of safety or of opportunity.”