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ireland introduced more strictness immigration regulations, its Justice Minister cited “alarmingly” high rates of population growth and increased numbers of asylum seekers as motivations for the changes.
The new measures announced on Wednesday follow a sharp increase in immigration.
Employed amidst new rules asylum seekers States will now be obliged to contribute to housing costs.
In addition, the criteria for family reunification and citizenship applications have been tightened for refugees.
The improvements come as net migration to Ireland is set to almost double from pre-pandemic levels through 2022, reaching an average of 72,000 a year.
The Finance Ministry attributes the surge to “unprecedented demand” for employment permits and related family reunification and the large number of Ukrainian refugees.
Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan told a press conference: “I have to bear in mind that our population grew by 1.6 percent last year, which is seven times the EU average… The Government’s view is that the rate of increase requires a policy response.”
He said, “We don’t want to go back to where Ireland was 80 years ago when our population was declining. It is a positive sign that it is increasing, but the rate of increase is a matter of concern.” He said the government recognizes the invaluable contribution made by immigrants to society and the economy.
Those applying to bring their family members with them from outside the non-European Economic Area (EEA) must now prove that they earn at least a minimum annual average wage of more than €44,000, and that they have housing to support them.
The current condition that a person with refugee status can apply for citizenship after three years of residence will be increased to five years and people in long-term receipt of certain social welfare payments will be ineligible.
The proposal would also force the 7,500 asylum seekers who are employed and living in state housing to contribute between 10 percent and 40 percent of their weekly income toward the costs.
The government has previously introduced new laws to speed up application decisions and appeals. O’Callaghan said he hopes to cut processing times by three to six months by next June.