Speaking to reporters in Brussels ahead of an EU summit, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar stressed that refugees had a legal right to come to Ireland, but said the government needed to be “firm with people who come to Ireland with a false story."
Ireland has seen a rise in protests in recent weeks against immigration. There have been accusations that far right groups have infiltrated community protests, stoking up fears.
Arriving in Brussels, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was appealing for more military aid against the Russian invasion of his country, Varadkar told gathered journalists that “we need to be firm, fair and hard."
“We need to be fair with refugees because refugees are welcome in Ireland, and people that need our protection should get it. We also need to be firm with people who come to Ireland with a false story or false pretense.
“We need to be firm with them and say that we are going to make a quick decision on your application and that we will return you to your country of origin. People expect that. And we also need to be hard on human traffickers because we should decide who enters our country, not criminal gangs.”
The taoiseach also stressed that Ireland is not anti-immigration.
“I’m somebody who’s in favor of migration,” he said. “I think it’s a good thing.
“It strengthens our economy. We wouldn’t run half our public services without migrants and (it) enriches our culture too.”
The European Council meeting discussed immigration throughout Europe. It comes at a time when member states, including Ireland, are hosting large numbers fleeing the war in Ukraine.
The taoiseach said: “Ireland and the EU will provide Ukraine with the humanitarian, military and financial aid it needs until Russia has been repelled, and we want to see its application for EU membership progress as quickly as possible.”
