Ireland could pay €13m instead of taking in 648 asylum seekers 

Anti-immigration activists march past a counter-protest of immigration activists on O'Connell Street in Dublin's city centre. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Ireland could pay almost €13m instead of taking in 648 asylum seekers every year if the Government agrees to join the new EU migration pact.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee is expected to bring a memo to Cabinet within weeks to advise government to opt in to the deal which was agreed in December.

The aim of the Pact is to improve burden-sharing of asylum applications across the EU, with some member states currently receiving a disproportionate number of international protection applicants.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the Government will “likely” opt to pay a financial contribution instead of accepting more migrants.

Government sources said it would be cost effective to pay the contribution rather than take in more asylum seekers when there are significant accommodation issues.

The money will be paid to the EU to assist with the relocation of refugees in other countries.

Officials in the Department of Justice have drawn up what Ireland’s “fair share” would look like based on current figures.

The mechanism will establish a minimum number of relocations of 30,000 at a Union level or financial contribution of €600m with member states contributing on a “fair share” basis. This is based on a 50% GDP and 50% population formula. Ireland’s fair share would be 2.16% based on current figures which translates to 648 relocations every year or a financial contribution of €12.9m.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee is expected to bring a memo to Cabinet within weeks to advise government to opt in to the deal which was agreed in December. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Opting-in to will require significant legislative and operational reform of Ireland’s system to introduce more efficient procedures, reduced timelines for international protection, inadmissibility and returns decisions.

The main changes proposed include accelerated processing of applications with each Member State required to process applicants' first instances, return decisions and appeal of both within 12 weeks. The border and accelerated procedures will help to address the challenge of applicants arriving with false or no documents. And enhancement of Eurodac - a large scale IT system that stores the fingerprints of international protection applicants.

In papers drawn up for government ministers and seen by the Irish Examiner, officials warned of risks to Ireland if it doesn't participate in the Pact. Reforms will significantly impact the current protection procedures of member states and Irish systems may result in the State becoming “a more attractive destination for individuals seeking protection”, according to the papers.

It’s hoped formal adoption of the Pact will be made ahead of the European Parliament elections, perhaps as early as April.

Meanwhile, more than 300 gardaí mounted a significant security operation in Dublin yesterday as an anti-immigration protest and a counter-protest took place in the city.

Gardai, some on horseback, acted as a line between both protests as they passed each other. Eleven people were arrested, "primarily for summary offences under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994".