Immigration and Ireland - MEGATHREAD *Mod Note Added 02/09/25*

OK but let's take a step back for a second here. If you make a failed asylum application, it does not necessarily mean that you have done something illegal. It only means you have applied, as you are entitled to do, and your application has been rejected — because you are not deemed to fit the category of someone requiring international protection. In this instance, the lady has come from South Africa which is now deemed a safe country of origin. It does not mean she has acted illegally, it doesn't even mean she is not being genuine in her own right, it simply means that her case has not been considered to meet the threshold of one where international protection is deemed appropriate.

But even if we accept the validity of your analogy, most of those misdemeanours you mention above carry relatively light punishments versus the heavy punishment of being forced to actually leave a country along with your children who are settling. And in the case of those misdemeanours, your standing as a good otherwise law abiding citizen can and often will be taken into account in a court setting when it comes to determining the appropriate penalty and indeed whether the judge will choose to not record a conviction at all. In other words, the courts apply an element of reasonableness which takes the wider context of your character into account. Just as I am trying to do here, in my own personal appreciation of whether this is the right hill for migration sceptics to die on.

https://www.rte.ie/news/leinster/2026/0210/1557785-oyekanmi/. If her children are going to Gonzaga there must be plenty of money or scholarship's, I wonder are they getting free legal aid, Ireland is full at the moment and we don't have the capacity to house Irish people so no illegal asylum seekers should be allowed to stay

Possibly that is true, or maybe it all balances out in some way, but the reason I think overall it is to the detriment of people here is because our take home in ppp terms, as I have mentioned, is not that high by EU standards. Yes, you will get the likes of Microsoft, Google, Meta here but at the same time most of their workers are brought in from other countries. It does raise rents here but not wages to anywhere near the same extent.

Personally I don't think their is a middle ground here.

My main gripe with the Asylum Process always was the length of time it took and the absolute deplorable nature of long term DP.

This lady and her family whilst not ideal, got processed in 2 years. As long as that process was fair and based on best practice, I don't think anyone really can have a problem with it.

The minister of course should retain his/her Veto, but that really should be reserved for the most extreme of circumstances.

For the record, the lady is not a criminal, hasn't done anything illegal in applying for Asylum and seems like a good genuine person who wants her children to be brought up in a safe environment.

Can't blame her for that, but sadly for her that does not equate to receiving Refugee Status.

I would wager that the deportation will be stalled till the summer to allow the son to finish his leaving cert 🤔

But that's not what you would be doing. It's not about conceding any particular right, but focusing with less intensity on cases like these at least sends out the message that if you do come here and you work / contribute and you oversee the good participation of your family in their education and local community, you are less likely to find yourself in bother. There is nothing wrong with that kind of message.

Focus on genuine scroungers, criminals and those with no intent to contribute to society — you are more likely to achieve a more broadly accepted and therefore sustainable policy.

Or be a purist, and pursue all cases with equal vigour before the divisive policy rapidly collapses and achieves next to nothing.

Ireland needs to learn from the UK's mistakes taking in immigrants who sre draining the system. Currently 9 million adults on benefits. A realtistic and good interview on Sky news ...

https://news.sky.com/story/the-uk-has-been-colonised-by-immigrants-says-ineos-boss-and-man-utd-co-owner-sir-jim-ratcliffe-13506333

Ireland is heading down the same path with its approach to nit deporting failed Asylum Seekers and immigrants like the Puska's.

I probably should have said "not illegal" rather than legal. Regardless of how you enter the country, you can always claim asylum and you will instantly be no longer illegal. You now have the right to reside and have freedom to travel within the country.

I agree with that there's a lack enforcement and resources and that, indeed, O'Callaghan has done much on improving the situation.

I think quite a lot depends on this particular minister. I would have liked to see his party voting in favour of those two measures recently passed at the EU level. Instead, they abstained from the first (expanding the safe countries list) and voting against the second (safe third country concept).

Oh we'll be the last to catch on no doubt. And we'll only catch on long after being identified as the last remaining soft touch in Europe. Our clueless seat holders are still a good few years away from telling the likes of Sinead Gibney to sit the fu*k down.

It's heading down the same path due to Legal Migration above all else.

Cracking down on legal VISA routes is Essential- More than Asylum ever is. Students VISA's, Work VISA's, Family Reunification.

The reason the UK is down the drain is because the vast majority of imports from the likes of Pakistan and Nigeria came legally.

She is taking the place of someone from an actual war torn country. She should be thrown out asap. He applied and failed. No exceptions. The law is the law. Once people realise this they are less likely to see us as a soft touch.