The Irish Refugee Council has urged the Government to show leadership at EU level to ensure that asylum-seekers are not forced to risk their lives to seek protection in Europe.
"The horrific death of eight people inside a container heading for Ireland this weekend is yet another powerful reminder to European governments of their failure to keep their promise to offer refugees a safe route into Europe," said Mr Peter O'Mahony, the council's chief executive.
Mr O'Mahony said avoiding further loss of life must be a priority. The Government was in an excellent position to challenge at the EU heads-of-state summit which starts today in Laeken, Belgium, "the downward trend towards the lowest common denominator in EU asylum policy".
Refugees were daily forced by "a raft of immigration controls to risk their lives to exercise their right to seek asylum", he said.
He said the Government and its EU partners guaranteed at a special summit in Finland two years ago to offer people fleeing serious human rights abuses a safe way in.
The Brussels-based European Jesuit Refugee Service said stricter immigration controls may prevent refugees in real need of protection from getting the help they needed.
The service's European director, Father John Dardis, said: "You can have the right to asylum. You can have an asylum system. But it will mean nothing unless people are able to get to the territory to claim that asylum."
He said tougher border controls gave more power to the traffickers and smugglers since people have to resort to them.
"You have a choice. Make controls stronger and thus drive people underground. Or opt for a different system; develop a proper migration channel where this is less likely to happen."