A former minister for justice has described Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman’s proposals to create a category of asylum for people affected by climate as “making policy on the hoof”.
Fine Gael TD Charlie Flanagan said that the proposal was neither practical nor feasible and was straying far outside the commitments agreed in the Programme for Government between his party, Fianna Fáil and Mr O’Gorman’s party, the Green Party.
Mr Flanagan, the chair of the Oireachtas All-Party committee on Foreign Affairs, questioned the timing of the comments, given that Mr O’Gorman’s own department was struggling to find emergency accommodation for 60,000 Ukrainian refugees, as well as almost 20,000 people from elsewhere in the world who are seeking international protection.
In a strong criticism of the proposal, Mr Flanagan said making such suggestionswere not helpful and, if implemented, would put Ireland’s policies on immigration and asylum at odds with that of all other states in the European Union.
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“It is making policy on the hoof and introducing an entire new category of person entitled to International protection,” said Mr Flanagan. “It comes at a time during which we are struggling to cope with the numbers of people coming into the country, either as refugees from Ukraine or seeking international protection.”
In floating the proposal earlier this week, Mr O’Gorman argued that a new defined group would need to be established within the asylum process to give protection to people fleeing their countries of origin for climate reasons.
He did add that Ireland could not do it alone but would have to act in concert with other countries. “I think that’s something I would like to see but I think that’s something that would have to be done at an international basis,” he said.
Mr Flanagan is one of a number of TDs who has questioned the timing of the initiative given the emergency accommodation crisis for those seeking refuge or protection in Ireland.
He has consistently questioned the high number of Georgian people who have arrived into Ireland seeking protection, given that it is a potential candidate country for the EU and deemed to be a “safe country of origin”. The figure rose from a little over 200 in 2021 to 2,700 last year.
[ How did Ireland’s asylum and refugee accommodation system reach breaking point?Opens in new window ]
However, in relation to the Ukrainian refugees he believes no limits should be put in place.
“We cannot put a 70,000 ceiling on Ukrainian refugees. Russian aggression shows no sign of abating as we approach the first anniversary of what will be a long and dirty war. Numbers fleeing Putin’s terror will rise and providing safe haven must be Ireland’s focus in terms of housing, healthcare, education, jobs and welfare,” he said.
