Paul Murphy Challenges Garda Commissioner's Claim on Far Right
Paul Murphy challenged the Taoiseach over the Garda Commissioner's assertion that the far right is not growing, citing recent blockades, assaults and attacks on asylum seeker accommodation. He said activists and People Before Profit meetings have been targeted and pressed for the Garda Commissioner to recognise the "troubling things" happening on the ground.
Key question on Garda Commissioner's claim
Paul Murphy asked how the Taoiseach could accept the Garda Commissioner's statement that the far right is not growing, given recent incidents. He referenced a man in his 70s left in hospital after an assault at a blockade at Corrafinn in Clare, tents of asylum seekers being burned, allegations of agreements with the Guards to clear camps, boarding of buses to count people, and intimidation and threats aimed at activists and left-wing meetings.
Government response on communications and community engagement
The Taoiseach said work is ongoing across government to intensify and improve communications and community engagement around accommodation for people arriving from overseas. He noted that 84,000 people have been provided with state accommodation in the past year across more than 100 centres, that most placements worked well, but acknowledged that engagement could have been better in some places including County Clare. A new model for sharing information with communities is being developed, a tender has been issued and additional staff may be hired to support engagement work.
Right to work and migration policy
The Taoiseach outlined current rights to work: beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine can work immediately once they obtain a PPS number, with about 15,000 already employed. For international protection applicants the rules differ - work permits are available unless permission to stay has been refused, and the waiting period for eligibility has been reduced to six months from nine. He warned against easing work-access rules further because it could act as a pull factor, and stressed the need to speed up decisions and enforce deportation orders when applications are refused.
Community funding, housing and modular homes
The Taoiseach confirmed a 50 million euro Community Recognition Fund allocated the previous week has been well received and ministers have been asked to consider a second round. He said modular homes are being overseen by the OPW within the Department of Public Expenditure, with a relevant minister working on delivery and the first units expected to be available next month. He described these measures as part of a cross-government effort to address the refugee and accommodation situation.
Taoiseach on assessing far-right growth
On whether the far right is growing, the Taoiseach said it was impossible to be definitive and he did not believe it was growing in terms of political support. He suggested the Garda Commissioner's comment may have referred to electoral support rather than protest numbers or attendance, and said he did not have figures to hand.
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I ask the Taoiseach how he agrees with the Guarda Commissioner when the Guarda Commissioner says the far right is not growing, and how does that statement tally with the reality of what we have experienced over the last couple of weeks in particular? We hear of a man in his 70s in hospital now after being assaulted at one of these blockades at Corrafinn in Clare. We know of tents of asylum seekers being burned, with some of those involved in the protests alleging that they had an agreement with the Guards to go in to clear them. We have had the left, People Before Profit in particular, being targeted, our meetings being disrupted, our activists being intimidated, us being threatened. We have blockades in different parts of the country. We have a situation where the Guarda were present, as far as I understand, where you had the boarding of buses to count people going out, and then a reference to some sort of right to protest. Is the Guarda Commissioner dealing with the real world if he is just ignoring the reality of quite troubling things that are happening in our country? Thank you. Thank you. I want to thank the deputies again for further questions. Just in relation to the issue of communications and information and engagement with communities, I want to reassure the House that work is ongoing across government to intensify and improve communications and community engagement. We should not forget that 84,000 people have been provided with accommodation, state-provided accommodation in the past year, in more than 100 different centres across the country. Most of the time, that has worked well. There has been information, communications and broad acceptance by the local community, but we do acknowledge that in some places it could have been better, and I think in County Clare it was one of those places where it could have been better in the last few weeks. We do appreciate that understanding and listening to communities is essential as we accommodate people in communities across the country. My department and the Department of Integration and other relevant departments and stakeholders are developing a more effective method of sharing information with communities. That work is nearing completion. A tender has been issued to assist in this work and is currently being reviewed. The new model will be implemented as soon as possible. Separate to that, the party leaders met last evening and confirmed that Minister Gorman and the Department of Integration are free to hire additional staff to support him and Minister Gorman in their work in engaging with communities. In relation to the right to work, which is raised by deputies and conscious that we do have labour shortages across the board in Ireland, Ukrainian people, because they are beneficiaries of temporary protection, have the right to work immediately, as long as they get a PPS number, about 15,000 are already. For IP applicants, it is different, and we need to be careful in that regard. Unless you have been refused permission to stay, you can apply for a work permit. I think it is after six months now. It used to be nine. It used to be impossible. We would have a real reluctance in easing that any further, because it could be a major pull factor for thousands of more people to come to the country and claim international protection. Lots of people who claim international protection are fleeing war and are fleeing persecution, but lots are not. Lots of economic migrants who came here and applied for international protection when they really ought to have applied for a work permit or a work visa and did not. We have to be honest about that. That means making sure that decisions are made quickly and that we do not issue work permits too easily, because that would be a pull factor and that is something we need to avoid. As I said before, when it comes to migration, we need to be fair and firm, fair with people who come here to work with work permits and work visas, people who come here as refugees, making sure that they are treated well and get the opportunities that they deserve and are protected. But also firm with people who don't follow our rules-based system. We have rules and we are going to enforce them and we are going to try to speed up decisions both in favour of applicants and against applicants. When decisions are made against applicants, we want to see more deportation orders and we want to see people having confidence that those rules will be applied and implemented. Just in relation to the office block nearby, I am not aware of it, but I will let Minister Gorman and his team know that it is a possibility to be looked at. On the Community Recognition Fund, 50 million allocated last week, being really well received around the country, have asked the relevant ministers to look at the possibility of a second round in a few months' time. Deputy Batchik asked who is in charge of modular homes. It is the OPW, which is part of the Department of Public Expenditure. Minister O'Donovan is specifically working on that. The first will be available next month. That is a further example of how there is a cross-government effort to help with the refugee crisis. The OPW, which is neither part of the Department of Housing nor part of the Department of Integration, working to provide accommodation for people coming from overseas. Finally, on the issue in relation to the far right, I think it is impossible for me to say whether it is growing or not. I do not think it is growing in terms of political support. I might be wrong about that. Perhaps the Guardian Commission's reference was in relation to that. Maybe it was in relation to the number of protests, or the numbers turning up with those protests, but they are not figures I have to hand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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