Leo Varadkar: Ireland has to take fair, firm and hard approach to migration

The Taoiseach admitted the Government needs to improve its communication with communities ahead of the arrival of refugees

Leo Varadkar also said communities do not have a right to say who can live in their area but have a right to know what’s happening in their town and village.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said Ireland has to take a fair, firm and hard approach to migration in the country.

Mr Varadkar also said communities do not have a right to say who can live in their area but have a right to know what’s happening in their town and village. However, he admitted the Government needs to improve its communication with communities ahead of the arrival of refugees.

It comes as the Irish Refugee Council has criticised the Government’s decision to fast-track the international protection decision-making process citing concerns that applicants may not have access to legal advice before having to complete required documents on their arrival in the State.

Mr Varadkar told the Irish Examiner that the State needs to be firm with people who arrive in Ireland with a “false story.” 

“I think when it comes to migration, we need to be fair, firm and hard,” he said.

We need to be fair with refugees because refugees are welcome in Ireland and people that need our protection should get it. We also need to be firm with people who come to Ireland with a false story or false pretense.

“We need to be firm with them and say that we are going to make a quick decision on your application and that we will return you to your country of origin, people expect that.

“And we also need to be hard on human traffickers because we should decide who enters our country, not criminal gangs and this is an issue that all of Europe is grappling with and we need to come up with solutions to deal with it together. In many ways we’re the end of the line as a European country, nonetheless we have shared issues and we need to deal with it together,” Mr Varadkar added.

Regarding communication with communities ahead of the arrival of refugees, Mr Varadkar said in the absence of information coming from Government, misinformation arises and false rumours appear online.

He said junior minister Joe O’Brien is working on infrastructure to ensure communities are consulted and the Government will resource it.

Ukraine

The Taoiseach was speaking to reporters in Brussels this morning ahead of a summit with EU leaders where migration will be discussed. He is also due to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and said he will assure him that Ireland and the Irish people are 100% behind Ukraine.

“I'll reassure him that a lot of Ukrainians have come to Ireland, that they are welcome in Ireland, that we will continue to provide humanitarian support, financial support, and also non-lethal military support through the European Union,” he said.

The Taoiseach also said he supported fast-tracking of Ukraine’s membership to the European Union.

However, he said Ukraine has to meet the criteria required to do so but that EU leaders have been “enormously impressed” about how the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people are doing everything they can to meet the test for membership.