IMMIGRATION CONTROL:THE GOVERNMENT should end the "farce" of judicial reviews for unsuccessful asylum applicants and introduce labour market restrictions for workers from the EU's newer member states, a candidate in the Dublin Central byelection has said.
Patrick Talbot, who is standing for the Immigration Control Platform, said asylum seekers whose applications failed should be removed from the State immediately.
“You can’t have this, where you’ve gone through the system and yet you’re still in this country,” he said. “That’s pure madness. It betrays the whole justice system . . . We want an end to the farce of judicial review after judicial review.”
Mr Talbot said the Government had seriously underestimated the number of people who would migrate to Ireland from eastern and central Europe after EU enlargement in 2004. Germany and Austria decided to require workers from the EU10 to secure work permits until 2011. He suggested Ireland should impose a similar restriction.
Mr Talbot ran unsuccessfully in the 2004 local elections and in the 2007 general election.
He agreed that immigration in recent years had helped the economy to expand, but criticised the Government for pursuing economic growth without considering broader consequences.
In the current recession, Mr Talbot said, it was “natural” for employers to favour Irish candidates for vacancies.
Mr Talbot also criticised party politicians for failing to address the immigration issue.