Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire has said that there is a need for a new agency to manage immigration and migration, but that this would be best located in a new Department of Justice and Home Affairs.

Deputy Ó Laoghaire was responding after the Irish Times reported on the Green Party’s plans to create a new migration agency to overhaul the approach to asylum seekers.

Teachta Ó Laoghaire said:

“Sinn Féin agrees that we need a new migration agency in the state. The reality is that the approach taken by this government in this area has been chaotic and incoherent.

“It has failed communities, with countless instances of poor communication and consultation and a lack of resources. It has failed asylum seekers and migrants, who have been left in often deplorable conditions, in poor accommodation and in tents, with poor access to sanitation and services.

“This has been on the watch of this government. There is clearly a need for a radical overhaul of how the issue of migration is managed. Currently policy in this area is divided between multiple agencies, and across the Departments of Justice and Integration. The government has allowed this fragmentation to continue for many years, meanwhile our migration system remains incredibly under-resourced and under pressure.

“With any new agency, there is a need to ensure that it has the appropriate powers, functions, and expertise.

“Sinn Féin believes that a new migration agency should have a wider scope than what the Green Party is currently proposing. We also believe that the agency should be situated in a new Department of Justice and Home Affairs, rather than being split across two departments as is currently the case with our migration system.

“If the government does not do so, it risks continuing the incoherent approach adopted to date, and failing to fully get to grips with the significant challenges that exist.

“It is also important to remember the Green Party’s role in immigration to date. Since 2020, Roderic O’Gorman has been Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, overseeing our international protection accommodation system. The latest figures show that almost 2,900 asylum seekers are homeless, while temperatures fall, and the darker nights ensue.

“That is the legacy of this government, that is the legacy of the Green Party.

“It is a bit late in the day, after almost five years at the cabinet table, for Roderic O’Gorman and the Green Party to be coming out with such new ideas. Under their watch, our immigration system has gotten worse and worse.

“Only a new government can deliver the change really needed in our migration system. Sinn Féin has the plan to enact that change and we will be releasing our policies, including a new Immigration Management Agency, in our election manifesto in the coming weeks.”