After opting in to the EU’s pact, Ireland must increase protections for refugees
Asylum seekers in tents in Dublin city centre recently. New research from ESRI shows that people in Ireland generally have very positive views on immigration, with over 73% of respondents expressing positive sentiments about immigration irrespective of an individual’s region of origin. File picture: Brian Lawless/PA
The Government has decided to opt in to the EU’s Asylum and Migration Pact after Justice Minister Helen McEntee secured Cabinet clearance to seek approval from the Houses of the Oireachtas.
Rather than opting in to creating a sovereign immigration system, the Government has decided to be a part of an immigration overhaul that threatens to place those seeking protection at further risk. As a nation of emigrants, Ireland should be at the forefront of a human-centred approach to migration; leading instead of being led.
