A Kerry TD says the government’s decision to shut down debate on its open-door immigration policy is reckless and profoundly disturbing.
Deputy Danny Healy-Rae’s comments come following a call by his brother, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, for a cap on the number of Ukrainian refugees.
Deputy Danny Healy-Rae says the health, social protection, and education costs alone for Ukrainian refugees will run to hundreds of millions of euro.
He says the reported overall allocation exceeds €3 billion for 2023, which is almost the equivalent to the country’s entire transport budget.
The Independent TD says despite this, there’s no debate on the costs or implications to the taxpayer, who’s ultimately forced to foot the bill.
Deputy Healy-Rae adds there are larger countries that have put caps on the numbers of refugees they’re taking in, such as France.
His call follows a similar one by his brother, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, who also called for a cap on the number of Ukrainian refugees, in the interest of the asylum seekers already here.
