The Minister for Justice , Mr O'Donoghue is between a rock and a hard place. Resistance to the dispersal of asylum-seekers has been growing, at locations as diverse as the wealthy suburbs of Dublin 4 to Cloheen, Co Tipperary. At the same time, the number of persons seeking asylum in this State continues to grow. In international law, the Government has a responsibility to receive such persons and to treat them in a humanitarian fashion, pending the processing of their applications for asylum. But it has failed to react with sufficient speed and to provide the necessary resources to deal with a deteriorating situation.
The proximate cause of the problem is an inadequate number of officials to deal with asylum seekers. By the time the Minister with responsibility for human rights, Ms Liz O'Donnell, described our immigration policy as a "shambles" last year, a huge backlog of applications had built up and newly-arrived refugees were queuing in the winter cold. It is true that the number of staff was dramatically increased by this Government, from 22 to almost 300, and credit is due for that. But the latest calculation would suggest that officials will not be able to cope with the current inflow, never mind deal with a backlog of 11,400 cases.
Four Catholic bishops yesterday called for the regularisation of the status of these people on a once-off basis, along with an estimated 4,000 persons who had not yet been deported, although their applications for asylum had been rejected. For Christian, humanitarian and pragmatic reasons, the bishops said, there was a strong case for regularising the situation for the two groups in question. Some had put down roots and their children attended school here. The Minister was unbending, arguing that an amnesty at this time would reward people who had sought to abuse the asylum process as well as generating a very large influx of new applicants. Up to 75 per cent of applicants for asylum did not qualify, Mr O'Donoghue said and he appeared determined to deport them. In that regard, he is expected to travel to Romania next month to agree new procedures for the repatriation of persons who have had their asylum applications refused.
The apparatus of the State was totally unprepared for the influx of asylum-seekers that coincided with our booming economy. And its has coped poorly, as is evidenced by its continuing failure to keep abreast of the growing numbers. That is the first issue that must be addressed. After that, there should be scope for some relaxation in Government policy, having regard to the findings of this week's Irish Times/MRBI opinion poll and the more generous response of other EU countries.
The bishops have made a challenging contribution to the debate by providing a moral yardstick against which to measure the administrative and political actions of the Government. But this complex and difficult issue will not be solved by a statement or two. It demands persistent Government attention. And it will require courage and clear speaking at local level by representatives of the various Churches, by businessmen, community leaders and politicians, in order to dispel fear and xenophobia and to bring about the integration of strangers who have so much to contribute.