Simon Harris defends Helen McEntee’s work on ‘demanding’ immigration issues

Taoiseach Simon Harris has defended Justice Minister Helen McEntee as having “done a lot” on immigration issues, which he described as an “extraordinarily demanding situation”.

The Justice Minister has been questioned on immigration issues during a committee appearance on Tuesday, an RTE Radio interview on Wednesday, and a media doorstep in Sligo on Thursday.

During her News At One interview, Ms McEntee said that of nearly 7,300 people refused refugee status in Ireland since the beginning of 2023, fewer than 100 people had been deported.

“I have full confidence the Minister for Justice, she’s working in an extraordinarily demanding situation,” Mr Harris said on Thursday.

“I’m working very closely with her and supporting her and her work in any way that I can because I do think that there is a real need… for the migration debate in Ireland not just to be one about accommodation, though it’s important, but it can’t just be one about accommodation.

“It also has to be one about borders, about the rules, about the borders of the European Union and about how there’s faster processing times. I think Minister McEntee has done a lot in this space.

“At Cabinet this week, she brought forward a proposal, which I think is going to have a very significant impact in terms of providing much faster processing times to people coming from Nigeria.

“I haven’t seen the situation in Sligo, but Minister McEntee and I talk often several times a day in relation to this, and she provides me with very significant information and updates on all issues I require.”

Mr Harris was speaking alongside Minister for Further and Higher Education Patrick O’Donovan and junior ministers Niall Collins and Ossian Smyth at the announcement of new student accommodation for UCD.

Asked about whether the state would continue to rely on student accommodation to house refugees and asylum seekers, he said that the number of Ukrainians relying on state accommodation is “falling quite significantly”.

“About 15 Ukrainians a day seek (state) accommodation, and on average about 45 Ukrainians a day leave state accommodation.

“So they’ve very much shows you that week on week, the number of Ukrainians relying on assistance from the state for accommodation is falling and falling quite significantly.”

He added: “Am I happy the system is robust? I am. Do I believe the system could be better? I do.”