Meanwhile, Independent European candidate Peter Casey says he fears the asylum seekers crisis will spiral out of control if what he termed this inept Irish government does not find an immediate solution.
He said the way illegal immigrants are flooding across the border from the UK on a daily basis, it will not be long before refugee tent communities mushroom across other parts of the country.
He says it’s vital that Ireland’s asylum is aligned with the UK, arguing that the Common Travel Agreement is more important than any agreement with the EU.
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Statement in full –
“This is not just a headache for Dublin, it will become an all Ireland problem. There will also be serious health and safety concerns here,” say Peter.
The independent candidate for the Midlands North West Constituency believes that the tents fiasco could have a negative impact on our tourism and hospitality industry.
“We need a long term solution.” The former Dragons’ Den star said, “Tourists will not feel safe walking around Dublin or anywhere in Ireland. It will result in a significant drop in tourism.”
“The government is adopting an “out of sight”, “out of mind policy”, instead of tackling the problem head on.”
“The Common Travel Agreement is the most important agreement between the UK and Ireland. More important than any agreement we have with the EU. It must be protected and defended at all costs. It is an integral part of the Good Friday Peace Agreement. For it to survive, we need to have an asylum policy which is aligned with the UK. I do not think we can afford to pay the £1.5M that Britain is paying Rwanda for each person they transfer, but we should have an urgent discussion with them to see how we can work together to come up with a win win solution.”
“Over 70 percent of Irish people said in a recent poll that they support the border checks to ensure nobody is entering the country illegally, and that is only common sense.”
“Properly implemented, there will be no need to have migration patrols on the Northern / Southern border. We would all agree to have similar inspections at all our ports of entry.”
The Irish businessman is now calling on the government to immediately fast track the application process for all asylum seekers.
“It should take days to process applications not months or years. Ireland has only deported a handful of failed asylum seekers up until now.”
“We need to fast track these applicants and if they fail to meet the criteria required to stay here, they should be immediately deported. We need to send out a strong message that Ireland is not the soft touch of Europe.”
Mr. Casey, who came second in the last Presidential Election, is also calling for stricter controls at our borders.
“You cannot call yourself a Sovereign State if you are unable to properly control your borders. The unprecedented refugee crisis is a result of the British government’s decision to send refugees to Rwanda, basically copying a similarly successful system implemented in Australia, when they transferred arrivals from Indonesia to Papau New Guinea.” he said.
“Also, I think there should be significant penalties for any airline, bus, ferry and train company ferrying illegal passengers across the border into the Republic. Put the onus on the transportation companies to check documentation. They are effectively facilitating people entering the country illegally.”
“It is disappointing that the MEPs from main political parties elected to represent the concerns of the Midlands North West and other Constituencies are so silent on this number one concern, it speaks volumes about their ineptness.”
“If elected, you can be guaranteed that I, as a true independent candidate,” he concluded, “will put pressure on the Irish government and the powers that be in Brussels to ensure we never again see tents on our streets.”
