Call to suspend IPAS applicants

Independent Ireland’s Shane P. O’Reilly welcomed what he described as the Government’s recent decision to limit State accommodation for new arrivals from Ukraine to 30 days, calling it a “road to Damascus” moment in the wider debate over access for new IPAS applicants entering Ireland.

Tabling a motion at Cavan County Council’s November monthly meeting, Cllr O’Reilly referenced the European Commission’s decision to allow Poland to temporarily suspend the right to apply for international protection for migrants arriving from neighbouring Belarus.

“There’s no point in trying to be the best boys and girls in Europe,” he said, urging the Irish Government to go further by suspending the entry of new IPAS applicants due to the “current accommodation unavailability”.

His motion was supported by Cllr Brendan Fay (Ind) and Trevor Smith (FG), the latter suggesting that as many as 88% of new arrivals are entering the country from the North.

In response, Sinn Féin’s Stiofán Conaty remarked that there was a “simple solution” to addressing the border issue.