Time for a zero refugee policy? - *Read OP for mod warnings - updated 11/5/24*

Apparently the Mount Street offices have been closed down - there is nothing there for them.

It might just be a temporary measure - the actual street is inaccessible to anyone and the IPO offices are not open.

One imagines too there will be a Garda presence there for the next few weeks. Anyone who comes along and tries to pitch up a tent will be stopped immediately.

There is no reason for them to be there anyway. They can still walk into the office without camping there.

It's clearly an protest tactic that they are there in the first place. It's not fair for the people who work in those offices to have to deal with it.

Will Virgin Media be offering lifts back to Mount Street again if our visitors don’t like their new abode??

Jaysus… depressing on so many level. Multiply this by what ever figure you are having yourself.

Capacity is the big issue. Not processing time.

Processing time being short is humane and is good for all concerned but even if you can process people in 24 hours, if youve only space to house 200 succesful applicants a month and you are receiving 400, you have a problem.

I think we are starting to understand why all these boats are mainly full of young men. The wives and kids are all at home waiting for the flight tickets to come through the letterbox.

"if he gets it" … that's the issue… the only thing this man is fleeing is his wife and six children.

If everyone were like him, multiply our IPA numbers x 7, see how long the country lasts.

Never ending. A national disgrace that must be stopped.

He says…

I think it is… you will get a house…

He obviously thinks thats what happens if your application is successful.

It's not about throwing hands up in the air — it's about being humble in recognising the enormity and complexity of the issue. This thread is full of people who just want to vilify certain politicians, complain about the status quo, and pine for easy solutions that simply don't exist. This achieves the square root of f**k all. There is no sustainable future for migration policy that is not built on learning to see the sincerity behind the views of those who have different opinions from you. So for those who spend their time on here arrogantly calling others incompetent, or stupid, or unpatriotic, or uncaring of Irish people — I say, enjoy the intellectual masturbation but know that you are part of the reason why problems with migration will persist.

If you want my solution, I will say it time and time again that the interests of all European countries are absolutely aligned in ensuring that the external borders are made more robust through deep and proactive partnership with North African nations and other countries from which migrants are entering illegally. Military/naval/physical infrastructure can only go so far. We need to co-operate with these countries, not give them "aid" or threaten them with punitive measures, but enter deals as equal partners for extensive trade, development, security and (yes) likely offering those countries legal working opportunities for their own citizens in Europe. This also involves heavy assistance to the likes of Italy and Greece and (again, yes) an equitable programe for the sharing of refugee intake across Europe to avoid any one country being disproportionately affected.

I think that's as close as we are ever going to get before we have to start looking at tougher travel restrictions that will affect us all and the reversal to some extent of the ease of international travel. But interests are not aligned on this so it won't last.

The Dublin agreement will be scrapped when the pact is in force.