Nasc Press Release: Enough is enough – Ireland must do more to help refugees entering Europe

Thu, September 3, 2015

welcome-postcard-share_page_1For immediate release

Nasc is strongly urging the Irish government and the Irish people to step up to the most significant test of our values and our humanity the world has witnessed since the end of the Second World War. Ireland must step up and play our part in offering sanctuary and protection to people fleeing war, violence and persecution.

Nasc CEO Fiona Finn states: “Today Europe is waking up to harrowing images of the body of a toddler drowned whilst attempting to reach the safety of Europe’s shores. Will this finally wake us up to the magnitude of the global humanitarian crisis on our doorstep?  Wringing our hands at the horror or patting ourselves on the backs and hiding behind the bravery of our navel officers’ actions is not enough.  History will not look kindly upon nations that did not do their part in this global crisis,” continues Ms. Finn.

“Despite the economic challenges we have had, Ireland continues to be one of the richest and most prosperous countries in Europe.  We have enough to share, if there is the political will to do so. Countries with far less resources than us are taking in far more people. We must be thinking in the thousands now, not the hundreds, in terms of the support Ireland must be providing for people seeking protection.”

In the lead up to the next EU Meeting on 14th September Nasc are calling on politicians and policymakers to implement the following urgent steps:

  1. Ireland needs to commit to taking more refugees this year. 1 refugee or asylum seeker for every thousand in our population, to follow Germany’s lead, or 4,000 this year, would be a start.
  2. The EU must provide safe and legal migration channels to Europe, to tackle use of smugglers thereby stemming the escalating deaths of refugees and asylum seekers travelling to Europe.
  3. Ireland must immediately implement much needed reforms to the protection system, in line with the recommendations of the Working Group on the Protection Process and Direct Provision, to ensure those currently in the system and those entering it are treated with respect and dignity. This includes urgently introducing the International Protection Bill, as well as ensuring that reforms to direct provision are made to create a more humane reception system for asylum seekers.
  4. Ireland must opt back in to the Common European Asylum System in its entirety, to bring us back into line with the rest of Europe, to ensure Europe as a whole is operating under the same system when managing this crisis.
  5. Ireland should follow Germany’s lead and suspend the Dublin regulations for those entering the State from designated ‘hot spots’ (i.e. places with high recognition rates), such as Syrian, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan (Darfur), where the vast majority of those crossing the Mediterranean are currently arriving from.

“Just because it is not happening here does not mean it’s not happening. We must do more,” finishes Ms. Finn.

ENDS.

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