Ireland Should Prepare to Receive Over 80,000 Migrants in 2023, Minister Says

Based on the figures of the International Protection Office of Ireland, last year 13,651 applications for international protection were filed, of them 1,198 in December, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.

According to the Irish Independent, a total of 83,814 people taking also into account over 70,000 citizens from Ukraine reached Ireland last year seeking protection, while Minister O’Brien has said that the country should prepare for similar figures this year.

Minister’s comments came following the struggle that the country is facing in accommodating refugees and asylum seekers.

However, Minister O’Brien didn’t provide any information if the tents would come to an end soon.

“It’s so hard to predict going forward because we’re literally dependent on how many people come through on a daily basis,” he said.

In this regard, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, has considered that there is a real risk migrants will have to sleep on the streets.

“I think we’d be wise to at least plan and expect similar numbers to what we had last year. I don’t think we should be planning that the war is going to end this year. I think you should be planning that the war will continue this year,” O’Brien told the Irish Independent.

The government of Ireland previously issued a campaign urging asylum seekers not to travel to Ireland, however, this does not apply to refugees from Ukraine.

The figures provided by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) revealed that by December last year, there were a total of 67,448 arrivals from Ukraine. The statistics revealed that of all the arrivals aged 18 and over, 62 per cent are males and 47 per cent of them females.

Recently, anti-immigration protesters marched in Ireland’s capital regarding the current situation.

The anti-immigration protests came following the initiatives #IrelandForTheIrish and #IrishLivesMatter.

“Unlike the English, who says very little, the Irish are speaking out – and protesting on the streets – about the huge number of young, male ‘asylum seekers’,” Nigel Farage pointed out in this regard.