More than 60 per cent of Irish people believe it is reasonable to send refugees back to the EU country to which they first arrived, according to an Irish Independent-IMS opinion poll published today. Eight out of 10 people surveyed questioned if more than 3,000 refugees, who have arrived in Ireland - mostly from eastern Europe and Africa - during the past 18 months, were genuine.
These findings coincide with a Government review of arrangements for dealing with refugees. It had been intended by immigration authorities that a significant number of refugees would be relocated following a Supreme Court ruling but this strategy was put on hold pending a report by an inter-departmental group. The poll also shows that 33 per cent of Irish people have cut down on eating beef or stopped consuming it altogether following recent health concerns over BSE and beef-on-the-bone - up to recently, there were indications that Irish beef consumption had been largely unaffected by the BSE crisis that has hit Europe and particularly Britain.