Human rights body expresses alarm at anti-migrant protests

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) said Ireland has an “obligation” to accept asylum seekers and that those people have the right to a fair consideration of their claim and their basic needs met.

IHREC chief commissioner Sinéad Gibney said asylum seekers also have the right to be “safe and free from intimidation or further distress”.

She said the rise in protests in recent months underlined what they had been saying for many months — that there was a need to move away from an ad hoc, emergency response and accept asylum seeking as a fact of life.

We need to invest properly in a permanent system of provision for International Protection Applicants that is stable, predictable, transparent, and in line with our human rights and equality obligations.

She said that not only was the introduction of a stable, predictable system the right thing to do, it would also assist with the integration of asylum applicants into local communities.

“The absence of a stable, predictable system is creating the circumstances where misinformation can flourish, and this crisis is being exploited by groups with sinister aims,” Ms Gibney.

“The longer this continues, the higher the risk of long-term divisions in our society taking hold. Ireland has an opportunity to learn from other, more polarised democracies in Europe.”