EU Parliamentary candidate Peter Casey says Direct Provision should be limited to 90 days in Ireland, adding that the current system is “not fit for purpose”.

“Direct Provision is not fit for purpose. We should close down provision centres within 90 days. If you are legal, you get a passport, if you are illegal you get a plane ticket.”

The Midlands-North-West candidate says there must be a more efficient system for the processing of asylum seekers. Mr Casey said it is unacceptable that people in Direct Provision in Ireland are spending between five and seven years in the system while background checks are carried out and disputed. He compared the inefficiency of the system to the efficiency of the US Homeland Security checks carried out at Dublin airport.

“A senior source at an international airline informs me that US immigration officials process around 7,000 passengers each day during peak times. And that’s just in Dublin airport and only passengers travelling to and from the US.

“On average over 80,000 passengers pass through Dublin airport daily and are all processed by passport control.

“Compare this to Direct Provision which has more 6,500 people who spend anywhere between five to seven years in the system. While people are in the system, the Irish tax payers pick up the bills for the legal costs of appeals. The system is all wrong.

“85% of deportation orders are not carried out in Ireland. We’ve become known as the soft touch of Europe in this regard. This needs to change.”