When reading about the Government’s policy changes this week, I thought about the people within the system. From the Citywest riot to the Drogheda attack, I kept returning to the men, women and 9,700 children who live in Ipas [International Protection Accommodation Services] centres, nearly a third of the total population. Their situation and circumstances, living on the very edge of our society, have been sorely missing from the debate and discussion of recent weeks.
Since taking office in February 2025, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan and Minister of State for Integration Colm Brophy have repeatedly stated that the Republic’s international protection system must be “firm but fair.” It is clear to anyone working with people seeking protection, that the emphasis has been on the firm, with very little in the way of fair.
Ministers repeatedly, selectively and incorrectly quote recognition rates to justify sweeping changes to the system. O’Callaghan has said “too many” people were applying for asylum who were “not entitled” to it, and he and Brophy cited an 80 per cent refusal figure that applies only to first decisions and not appeals.
But the Government’s own published data show that about 45 per cent of decisions published this year have been positive. The Ministers criticise and undermine a fragile system that their parties have overseen for years. They float ideas like “deportation hubs” – a red herring proposed by various countries for decades, but never implemented because of obvious procedural and practical barriers. They offer people money to leave while their applications are still pending.
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It is surprising that neither Minister has openly acknowledged this Government’s most dangerous and damaging policy choice: to force newly arrived male international protection applicants to sleep rough, at real risk to their health and safety, to prove their need for accommodation. The Irish Times reported on Thursday that although there are 3,500 beds in the Ipas system, men are still sleeping on the streets. We talk about how we are committed to human rights, but in August, Europe’s top court directly admonished the State on this policy.
What was different about the measures announced last week is that they target refugees – people who have already been through the process, have been found to be at risk, and are very likely to be here for the rest of their lives. We had wrongly assumed that they were willing to be fair with those who do qualify for protection.
The changes severely undercut two key pillars of refugee integration: a clear route to citizenship and the ability to reunite with family. The Government and society ask refugees to integrate, but are removing their ability to do so. Proposed changes to the family reunification rights of people granted status will effectively split up families indefinitely or at least until such time as securing affordable housing for a family becomes an easier prospect.
Changes to the rules regarding citizenship will limit refugee integration prospects. Make no mistake: the impact of these policies – particularly the changes to family reunification – will fall on children and families, keeping them apart, forcing people into dangerous journeys in the absence of safe family routes, and pushing refugees further to the margins.
None of this should come as a surprise. Our asylum system has been neglected for many years, left to stagnate for years and then subject to huge scrutiny and attention and change. The Sanctuary Runners – an Irish, and now global integration success story – recently pointed out that the Republic has had no integration strategy for several years. On one of the most contentious and pressing issues of our time, we have no plan. Communication and leadership are also sorely lacking.
Members of the public have been led to believe we are overwhelmed, when applications are declining here and across Europe. The last two years have been exceptional in that two large migration flows: post-Covid movement and refugees fleeing Ukraine have occurred almost simultaneously.
Failures elsewhere in our society amplify pressure on immigration and asylum. For years, we at the Irish Refugee Council avoided mentioning the word “housing” for fear of conflating these issues; that is no longer possible. For as long as we face crises in housing, health, and infrastructure, politicians and the public – intentionally or not – will look for a scapegoat. Too often, the target is immigrants, and within that group, asylum seekers. The United Kingdom offers a stark example: trapped in its post-Brexit malaise, the Labour Party is trying to outpace Reform on immigration. It is a strategy with enormous risks for the UK and the Republic.
At the very least, we are at risk of falling into the trap described by academic Hein de Haas: politicians embrace the benefits of immigration but fail to make the case for it publicly for fear of criticism. We can’t have our cake and eat it. If our Brazilian, Philippine and Zimbabwean communities left tomorrow, this State would grind to a halt – our hospitals would collapse, hospitality would stop and older people in our communities would be bereft of care in nursing homes.
And yet, all is not lost. Countrywide, people continue to step up. The For All movement has shone across towns and neighbourhoods, powered by community effort and very little external support. The Hope and Courage Collective is helping us learn how to talk about these issues – and how to engage with, and listen to, communities. Groups of volunteers have supported homeless asylum seekers every night for the last three years.
This State now has a choice. It can follow the UK down a retrograde vortex in which parties of the left or centre try to outright the right, or it can hold firm to our values.
One young person we support through the Irish Refugee Council’s youth work comes to mind. I heard that individual speak recently and the audience was held in the palm of their hand – that person was determined and ambitious, but also deeply aware of a precarious situation and the difficult circumstances faced daily.
As the noise builds around such people, they will continue supporting themselves and their families, pursuing an education and aiming to make a brighter and better future.
- Nick Henderson is chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council
