‘Compel asylum seekers to find work’

A CAMEROON-born man contesting the General Election is calling for a change in legislation to compel asylum seekers to find work and deport them if they don’t.

Benjamin Ashu Ashu-Arrah, who is running in the Cork North Central constituency, came to this country nine years ago as an asylum seeker and initially borrowed money to further his education at UCC, where he qualified with a BSc in analytical chemistry.

Having since acquired Irish citizenship, he is now working in the university and feels that all asylum seekers should be “empowered to find work”.

Benjamin said it was a major burden on the state to support asylum seekers until their applications are processed, which could take up to five years.

“In Canada an asylum seeker gets assistance from the government for two months and then they have to find work. People must put in the effort and if they don’t want to work they should be deported,” Benjamin said.

The 42-year-old, who lives at Charlemont Terrace, Wellington Road, said political infighting would not solve the country’s economic woes. “This country has a lot of wise men, not necessarily politicians, who should form a think-tank to come up with ideas to get us out of this mess,” Benjamin said.

“These wise men should be commissioned to form a two year-plan which would help prevent mass emigration of skilled graduates in a brain-drain. There should also be a reduction in PRSI for employers and an extension of the employers’ job scheme to two years, rather than the one year proposed by the government,” added Benjamin, who also questions why Ireland, with a population of just over four million, should have roughly the same number of public representatives as Germany, which has a population of nearly 82 million.