Mattie McGrath: Condemns 'Broken' International Protection System
Mattie McGrath spoke in the Dáil about Ireland's international protection system, calling it broken and saying it is being exploited. He criticised the government's late response, urged enforcement of deportation orders and described local impacts in Tipperary, Dundrum and Ross Grey.
Mattie McGrath told colleagues that Ireland's international protection system is broken, saying "the Charles himself admitted that it is not working" and that "the teacher echoed that sentiment." He argued the issue is not merely pressure on the system but exploitation, citing his claim that over 80% of asylum claims are found to be false.
McGrath said many people remain in Ireland despite deportation orders and stressed that "if you have been ordered to leave, you must leave." He acknowledged deportation orders have increased but described the lack of enforcement and accountability as totally unacceptable.
He described local problems from top to bottom in Tipperary, naming Tipperary town, Rat Cabin, Ross Grey and Dundrum and mentioning hotels and buildings said to be taken over. McGrath said tourism and local economies were harmed, that communities faced heavy deployments of force, and that some residents who spoke out were decried.
McGrath accused councils and decision-makers of facilitating conversions of hotels and leisure sites into IPAS centres and criticised what he called rogue developers receiving public money. He urged cutting funding to those developers by two-thirds and said ordinary people who want to help should be prioritised.
He recalled being shouted down and labelled racist for raising these concerns but said government attitudes appear to have shifted belatedly. He concluded by calling on the minister to make a concluding statement and highlighted ongoing legal processes such as section 5 adjudications in the High Court.
Main claim about the protection system
Mattie McGrath told colleagues that Ireland's international protection system is broken, saying "the Charles himself admitted that it is not working" and that "the teacher echoed that sentiment." He argued the issue is not merely pressure on the system but exploitation, citing his claim that over 80% of asylum claims are found to be false.
Deportations and accountability
McGrath said many people remain in Ireland despite deportation orders and stressed that "if you have been ordered to leave, you must leave." He acknowledged deportation orders have increased but described the lack of enforcement and accountability as totally unacceptable.
Local impacts and specific sites
He described local problems from top to bottom in Tipperary, naming Tipperary town, Rat Cabin, Ross Grey and Dundrum and mentioning hotels and buildings said to be taken over. McGrath said tourism and local economies were harmed, that communities faced heavy deployments of force, and that some residents who spoke out were decried.
Allegations about councils, developers and conversions
McGrath accused councils and decision-makers of facilitating conversions of hotels and leisure sites into IPAS centres and criticised what he called rogue developers receiving public money. He urged cutting funding to those developers by two-thirds and said ordinary people who want to help should be prioritised.
Political context and closing demand
He recalled being shouted down and labelled racist for raising these concerns but said government attitudes appear to have shifted belatedly. He concluded by calling on the minister to make a concluding statement and highlighted ongoing legal processes such as section 5 adjudications in the High Court.
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Transcript
to be back after a short absence due to illness, but I am delighted to be back. I have tried many times to have debates here in the last Dáil and I was denied. I want to also condemn the attack and dropout. Any actions like that are totally reprehensible and cannot be condoned. Let me be absolutely clear. Ireland's international protection system is broken. The Charles himself admitted that it is not working. The teacher echoed that sentiment. They have been on some road to Damascus there. My goodness, I never saw anything like it. The teacher echoed the sentiment. It is astonishing, really, for those of us who have been calling out the broken system for almost three years now, Deputy Karen Orner, myself and others, to hear these sentiments by Government now. We have been abused, heckled and shouted down by all sides of this House called racist, far-right and accused of creating division are undermining social cohesion. Yet here we are now, the Government have caught up and are understanding our concerns. Maybe the filed vote had something to do with that, I do not know, but it is a bit late. It does not really seem to me, like I said I wrote to Damascus, but the proof of the pudding we have been eating. We will see by their actions. Over 80% of asylum claims are found to be false. That is not a system under pressure. That is a system being exploited shamefully. What is worse, many individuals remain in Ireland even after receiving the deportation orders. There is no accountability. This is totally unacceptable. I accept that deportation orders have increased, but if you have been ordered to leave, you must leave. Minister, can I just mention Tipperary, from top to bottom. The Cade Mina Fault in Tipperary is well known for it. But right up from the top of Tipperary town, Tipperary, down right to Rat Cabin, Ross Grey, what happened was appalling. Down to Dundrum House Hotel, the Vista is still going on there, it is just appalling. A Herms Hotel in Tlanmel and indeed many other buildings as well, taking over. The economy depended on them for tourism. Many, many local people walking there. And if you said anything, you were decried. What's going on in Dundrum is absolutely shabbat. And your Taoiseach, when he was in Tlanmel, before the election, met with Michael Murphy's office at the time, Councillor Murphy at the time. And he met Miss Crowe and Mrs. O'Dewire, and he explained to them what was happening, and he seemed to be listening. But then they were decried, and the right squad was sent in. The deployment of so much force on communities that were totally not non-violent, and anybody came there trying to create trouble were hunted. Same in Ross Grey. The way that he used the guarantee was shocking. And now we're left with a heap of brush in Ross Grey. There's a section 5 due to be adjudicated in the High Court, and it's going on and on in the third. Meanwhile, another section 5 has been submitted. Now the council reflected on board Panola, on commission board Panola. And we know what they're doing. They're going to facilitate, they're making a drum drum house hotel and leisure resort and golf course into an IPAS centre. And simple as that, they have no interest. And that's been facilitated by you, minister, and by government. And this is not on a wink. It's live and well in big business. And the money that you're paying to big, not big developers, rogue developers, who wouldn't be interested in housing people, their riches in their pockets. And I say cut the funding that they're getting, cut it by two-thirds. And then we'd have ordinary people who want to help and have asylum seekers. Not greedy, not nice people. And the people in Drogheda aren't nice either, that own that place. So a lot of investigation needs to go on this, and there'll be books written about this, and huge investigations in years to come, and we'll have to hang our heads in shame. It's a broken system, and you're only playing catch-up here. I don't think you really want to even fix it. And that I now call on the minister to make your concluding statement. Minister Colin Brophy, 10 minutes.