LAST UPDATE | 29 Sep

MINISTER FOR JUSTICE Jim O’Callaghan has defended government’s plan to pay families seeking asylum up to €10,000 to drop their claims and leave the state. 

The government is looking to increase the allowance to €2,500 for individuals and up to €10,000 for families if they drop their asylum claims and return home.

An existing allowance of €1,200 for an individual or €2,000 for a couple or family is in place.

The Irish Refugee Council has criticised the move today, stating that it is concerned “about anything that tries to coax or lure somebody to drop their application for asylum”. 

Defending the measure today, O’Callaghan said “what I’m doing is I’m saving the state money”.

He said, on average, it costs €122,000 to accommodate the processing of an international protection applicant and €30,000 per annum to accommodation an international protection applicant.

“So, it makes sense to provide an incentive for them to leave the country at an earlier stage,” he said, stating the proposal is for a “slight increase to what it was before”.

“It’s very much in line with what’s offered in other EU countries and indeed in the UK. I think we’re probably a bit below the UK, and we’re certainly below what’s offered in Denmark.

“So the objective here is to try to encourage people to recognise that the likelihood is that their application is not going to succeed and they should leave earlier. And by doing that, I’m saving the state money and there’ll be more resources available for other causes,” said the minister. 

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe gave the plan his support over the weekend, telling reporters that O’Callaghan’s measure was a way of to deliver on “clear” migration rules. O’Callaghan said the increase in the money will come from his existing departmental budget. 

Concerns from Irish Refugee Council

Nick Henderson, chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council, has said his organisation is very concerned by the move.

He told RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland programme that it’s “inappropriate to try and interfere with people’s decision-making” in the asylum process by offering them an enhanced payment to return home.

“We would be very concerned about anything that tries to coax or lure somebody to drop their application for asylum,” Henderson said.

Henderson said there are two parts to the international protection process, where somebody who had a claim receives a decision first from the International Protection Office. If that’s unsuccessful, then they have a right of appeal.

While the government’s payment will not be offered to people currently awaiting the decision on their appeal, Henderson was critical of the impact it would have on a person’s claim for protection.

He said a decision on someone’s claim is there to decide whether or not they are returned to where they fear persecution, and that it’s critical for people to receive those decisions.

The minister said he wants to see asylum seeker applications drop below 10,000 per year.

“It puts huge pressures on the system. It also costs a very significant amount of money. This year we’re going to be spending €1.2 billion on accommodation for international protection applicants,” he said. 

His department are working on expediting the process, so applicants do not need to be accommodated for a lengthy period of time.

The minister said he wants to send out the message that if you’re unsuccessful in your application, there will be consequences.

“If people think there isn’t going to be a consequence, if you fail in your application, well then they will just continue to stay, so it’s important that we give effect to deportations. If you fail in your application to asylum, you must leave the country. If you don’t do it voluntarily, we will engage in enforced deportations,” said the justice minister.

With reporting by Christina Finn