Govt cracking down on illegal immigration

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar had said the Government is cracking down on people coming to Ireland illegally.

However, he said that legal immigration was being dealt with in a fair and welcoming way.

He told reporters that immigration had served the country well.

Mr Varadkar said the Government was seeking to assess international protection applications as quickly as possible to determine whether people have a right to stay in the country.

Separately, Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman said the Government always keeps its “offering” to Ukrainians under review.

It folllows comments from the Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys in the Dáil this week that the Government might “down the road” have to reduce welfare payments for all Ukrainians staying in State accommodation.

Mr O’Gorman said that such supports were always under review, but at present the Government is only focussed on reducing welfare for new Ukrainian arrivals.