Farmers Alliance acknowledges the significant contributions of migrants to our economy and welcomes those who integrate into our society and respect our culture. However, our current open borders policy, coupled with generous benefits for asylum seekers and economic migrants, has been exploited.
Many individuals arrive here after initially migrating to the UK and France, enticed by more favourable conditions. Insufficient background checks on these arrivals pose risks to our safety and undermine legal migration processes. We oppose this lax approach and will tighten border controls, ensuring all arrivals have proper documentation.
Under our leadership, Ireland will exercise its option to opt out of EU immigration pacts, mirroring Denmark’s example. We will reinstate strict border checks and promptly deport individuals with criminal records or those from safe countries.
Under the Lisbon Treaty, both Ireland and Denmark have the opportunity to opt out of all EU Immigration Agreements.
Denmark has exercised this option, recognising its limitations as a small country unable to accommodate additional asylum seekers.
Similarly, Ireland, facing a severely overstretched housing market and strained services, finds itself in a comparable position.
As a response, we will promptly activate our Opt-Out clause for existing and forthcoming EU immigration agreements.
This entails reinstating stringent border controls to ensure that individuals cannot enter the country without appropriate documentation, with airlines facing substantial fines for any failure to enforce these requirements.
We will make substantial investments in border control infrastructure and resources to conduct thorough screening and vetting of all asylum seekers or suspected individuals, ensuring swift decisions on their applications.
We will implement a work visa policy where individuals with skills that are needed in Ireland can come and work.
We will make Ireland much less attractive to illegal and economic migrants, with significant periods of time between arriving and working in Ireland, and any entitlement to benefits and housing.
Those arriving from safe countries will be automatically refused asylum.
Upon rejection of an application, individuals will receive immediate deportation notices, with a 30-day period to leave the country voluntarily.
Failure to comply will result in prosecution and state-enforced deportation.
We perceive this issue as the most significant national security concern facing our nation, necessitating substantial investment of both time and resources to effectively address it.