TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said that he wants to see the time to process asylum seekers cut down to between six and 12 weeks.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio One’s This Week, Varadkar said that he wanted to see the time it takes to make decisions on asylum applications accelerated far beyond the current processing rate of 18 months.

This was detailed in a parliamentary question answered by Justice Minister Simon Harris last month.

In Brussels this week, Varadkar told reporters that he believed the Government needed to take a “fair and firm and hard” approach to migration.

When asked about it today, he said that the Government needed to be “firm” with people who have their applications rejected by the State.

“We do need to be firm, I believe, with people’s whose applications are rejected,” Varadkar said.

“We need to say to people that if you’re going to come to Ireland with a false story or on  false pretenses, we will try to prevent you from entering in first place.

“What we’re saying is that we want applications to be assessed in six to 12 weeks where possible and where deportation orders are issued, we want them to be effected,” Varadkar said.

He reiterated that the Government intended to be “hard” on human traffickers and criminal gangs involved in people smuggling.

“These are people who put people in rafts on the Mediterranean and the Aegean, hoping they’ll be picked up and not really caring if they die,” Varadkar said.

“These are people who tell vulnerable people all around the world that the streets of Europe are paved with gold and take their money to bring them to Europe.

“We are, as a country and as a European Union, going to have to be harder on trafficking.”

When asked about the Department of Integration’s estimate of 80,000 asylum seekers arriving into Ireland in 2023, Varadkar said that he didn’t it “would be that many”.

“If you look at the numbers coming in now on a weekly basis, I think, the initial numbers coming in this year will probably be closer to 30,000 or 40,000.”

However, he did admit that it would be challenging for the Government to accommodate the number of refugees, but that vacant, State-owned buildings would be used.

Varadkar added that the first tranche of modular housing for refugees would become available within the coming weeks and that he expected between 500 and 700 units to be completed throughout the year.