It is “unethical and inappropriate” for the Government to offer people in the asylum process money to leave the country, according to the Irish Refugee Council (IRC), which has “strongly” opposed the measure.
The Government is increasing its voluntary return grant, which means those seeking international protection in Ireland are to be offered an allowance of €2,500 – or up to €10,000 for a family – if they drop their application, leave the State and return home.
The Government already offers a voluntary return allowance of €1,200 per person or €2,000 per family. Under that scheme, 1,159 people had left the State as of September 19th last, an increase of 129 per cent compared with the same period in 2024.
Nick Henderson, IRC chief executive, has written to the Department of Justice to raise concerns about the new proposal.
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“This policy is specifically directed at people still in the protection process. We believe this is unethical and inappropriate and we strongly oppose it,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
“While voluntary return is preferable to forced deportation, it is only appropriate at the end of the process. We should not be paying people in need of safety to abandon their claims. Ireland has been and must remain a nation that offers refuge.”
He said those seeking international protection were extremely vulnerable and living in, or close to, poverty.
“To email them while they are still in the process, with an outstanding decision, many of whom have waited many months or years, proposing a cash payment to encourage them to return to their country is deeply concerning.”
Mr Henderson described the policy as being “particularly troubling” given 30 per cent of appeals in 2024 were successful. “People have a statutory right to appeal and it is fundamental to any international protection process,” he said.
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In his letter to the Department of Justice, he also noted that the Government had not consulted stakeholders before announcing the scheme.
“Organisations that support people in the protection process – many of which are already overstretched – are now likely to receive calls and queries about this scheme without having been given any information or opportunity to prepare,” he said.
Last weekend, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he believed it made sense to set up a system that would offer money to international protection applicants to return home.
“If people are seeking asylum, and in their heart of hearts know that they are not going to receive it, it could be economic migrants or whatever, the idea of giving people a helping hand to return or to be integrated to where they return to, makes sense to me,” Mr Martin said. “Both for the individuals concerned, but also for the broader system here in terms of the cost.
“People could be a year or two in various unsatisfactory accommodations, from their own perspective. I think it makes a lot of sense to have a voluntary return system as an option for people to return to where they came from, but crucially, to give them supports to reintegrate, and maybe to give them a start in life if they’re returned.”
