Money for migrants should not come out of Budget - Howlin

Ireland has asked the European Commission to ensure money spent on the State’s response to the migrant crisis does not come out of the annual Budget.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin said there would be a “cost factor” to accommodating migrants which could not be allowed to compromise Ireland’s economic recovery.

“Ireland wants to play its full part in dealing with what is a humanitarian crisis for Europe and indeed the world,” he said.

“One of the things I’ve been asking of the Commission is that any monies expended in these matters would not be part of the fiscal space that would be required of every other area of expenditure.

“I think that would be something that the Commission should accede to.”

Mr Howlin was speaking ahead of Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting. Asked if spending to address the migrants crisis would be outside Ireland’s deficit targets, he said: “That’s what I’d certainly seek. I think that’s a reasonable thing to do.”

The issue was a new one on the European “horizon”, he said.

“It’s one that I think every European state will be required to measure up to and obviously there will be a cost factor,” he said.

“I think that should be done in a way that doesn’t compromise the capacity of us to deal with the other issues for a recovering Ireland as we address our own health, education, social protection, infrastructural issues.”