Ireland running out of accommodation for Ukrainian refugees due to surge in non-Ukrainian refugees?

Very laudable but still doesn't explain where they are supposed to be accommodated, having lots of green fields isn't much use.

The problem with housing refugees is that it is not 'optional'. Ireland stopping taking refugees or imposing an upper limit or cap would be in breach of international refugee law, which we have signed up to.

The UK are going down this route but are absolutely shredding their reputation in the process. Even talking now about withdrawing from the ECHR : Russia and Belarus are the only two other countries in Europe not to be a party to it.

We were sold the Lisbon treaty in large measure because we were assured of derogations, unfortunately our Government choose not to exercise that right.

Factsheet28 February 2021

Ireland's participation in EU schemes to relocate and resettle refugees

Ireland voluntarily agreed to fully participate in the EU relocation and resettlement schemes set up in response to the migrant crisis that peaked in 2015.

The EU has never forced Ireland to take in refugees or immigrants.

In fact, Ireland has no obligation to take in refugees as, along with Denmark, it has an opt-in or opt-out clause on justice and immigration measures under the Lisbon Treaty.

However, Ireland voluntarily agreed to fully participate in the EU relocation and resettlement schemes set up in response to the migrant crisis that peaked in 2015.

Not without repercussions. It sounds great on paper but Ireland announcing the country was "full" and unable to take in any more refugees, when no other country in western Europe is doing this would be seen as a hugely controversial move. It would hardly tie in either with the image of a country that is supposedly open for business and seeking lots of inward investment.

We can slow the numbers if we wanted to. There is no international law that says we have to take infinite amounts of refugees or asylum seekers & we have taken more per capita than almost all european countries.

Its a false narrative to say we have no choice.

Ireland has a direct opt out clause under the Lisbon treaty.

I am not suggesting we should opt out, but the majority of the population clearly want to slow the numbers and the govt could do so, if it chose to.

Recent polls wouldnt appear to back you up on that. Id say the majority of people have common sense enough to know that pouring hundreds or thousands of refugees into an already "full" country is the height of idiocy.

What repercussions? We take in far more than France per capita but they seem to avoided any sanctions. Is it because everyone sees how militant the French population are (look at the pension riots) and the EU are afraid of doing anything there.

To get to an island on the far side of Europe you need to cross a lot of safe countries, what’s the attraction here? Are we still offering full dole,accommodation and free health care?

Well, the country has to be aware of its obligations under human rights laws. Unilaterally announcing the country was "full" would have many knock on effects. It's supposed to be a country of a hundred thousand welcomes and actively seeking visitors, migrant workers and inward investment. Saying to Europe and elsewhere "We are on the verge of collapse here and cannot accept a single more refugee" would be a hell of a negative message to send out to the world. Even some of the poorest and most deprived countries in Europe are still taking in refugees.

Filling a bucket with a whole in.

Ireland has an opt out clause. It just hasnt invoked the clause.

There may be some legal challenge if Ireland suddenly said "thats it no more and we are turning away any new Asylum Seekers and Refugees" but anything can be legally challenged and there would still be no obligation on Ireland to accept Asylum seekers.

As mentioned, Ireland has an opt out clause under the Lisbon treaty. It doesnt need to accept people if it chooses not to do so.

And even if it didnt have an opt out, the european court is not going to force any country to accept refugees, ad infinitum. Those countries may be fined or bad mouthed, but they cant be forced to accept people into their soverign state.

If there was any strong, irrefutable law that was forcing countries to accept Refugees, all the EU countries would have targets.

As we know, they dont have targets.

Hosting Refugees ls done via good will and collective spirit.

Some countries have taken in more than others, but those that have taken in fewer are not being hounded by a debt collector and told they must take in more or else be evicted from the EU, have sanctions imposed etc.

That simply isnt going to happen.

We must also remember that Ireland is already a front runner in terms of the number of Asylum Seekers/Refugees it has taken per capita and as stated, has an opt out clause anyway.

Ireland is very much positioned to slow the numbers to a trickle, if it were so inclined.

Nobody in the European courts etc is going to be hauling Ireland over a barrel if it stemmed the numbers now.

With respect to the impact on housing caused by Refugees and Asylum Seekers, I would have to disagree that there is no impact.

There are over 400 Asylum Seekers sleeping on the streets now because there is no accomodation for them.

If another 700 arrive next week, and they surely will, it is likley that many of them will find themselves in tents on the street also.

Of course the govt will try to house these people and that is the just and human thing to do.

But as we all know, Ireland has very little available accommodation and any space allocated to refugees or Asylum Seekers is accommodation that is not going to Irish residents that have been evicted.

Its the plain and simple law of physics, sadly.

Two bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time.

I know it isnt the truth that we want to hear. But the truth, it is.

The upcoming eviction ban is of course going to see many people evicted into homelessness. We are beyond the point of accomodating Asylum Seekers currently and have over 400 living on the streets.

To keep allowing more and more people into the country, whom are not in receipt of preapproved accommodation, can only fuel the growth in homeless numbers.

The Govt needs a better policy to manage this crisis and some form of control over the numbers entering the homelessness category (homeless originating both domestically and internationally) is an integral part of the solution.

The problem at the moment is that the eviction ban is growing the domestic influx of homeless people and the open door Asylum seeker policy is also growing the international influx of homlessness.

To be fair most people are very welcoming. Its a small loud minority thats not.

I think there is a difference between a govt fulfilling humanitarian obligations and putting a block on Asylum Seekers completley.

I dont think many people are saying we should block Asylum seekers completley, but assigning the numbers to available accommodation is a sensible policy and it is really the only policy that will stop people ending up on the streets.

Who is to say that Asylum Seekers over subscribed to available accom wont sue the govt for turfing them out onto the streets?

We may, ironically, see a larger legal challenge from the current govt policy, arising from people being forced to live in tents, than you would if Ireland just restricted the numbers under condition of the lisbon treaty.

With regards the govts obligations to house Asylum Seekers, Ive already explained that there is no obligation.

There is no legal requirement to do this, so the argument for obligations is legally redundant.

Remember that old saying, everything in moderation.

I think thats really all people are calling for. Moderate the influx in accordance with available accommodation and the needs of an underhoused resident population.

There ya go, that answers my question, presented himself to homeless services and was given a bed, so wasn't left sleeping on the streets as a result of non-irish.

Thanks.

Very common sense post. Of course to some of the clowns on this thread, you are a far-right racist extremist.