Local Election candidate claims Roderic O’Gorman is “creating a new class of asylum millionaires”

Local election candidate Paul Lawless has claimed that Minister for Integration, Roderic O’Gorman, is ‘creating a new class of asylum millionaires’.

Aountú’s Paul Lawless has addressed the figures which were released by the Mail on Sunday, regarding the state's contracts for accommodating refugees and asylum seekers, calling them ‘lucrative’ and ‘staggering’.

It was reported that in the first six months of 2023 the state paid over €100 million to just five companies and over €1 million each to a further 184 companies. It was also found that in the same time period, taxpayers paid more than €650 million to private accommodation providers, who accommodated international protection applicants. 

Lawless compared the reports, saying the above findings are equivalent to delivering over 3,000 3-bed semi-detached homes, at a cost of circa €400,000.

He accused Minister O’Gorman’s Department of assisting big business and speculators profiteering to the tune of tens of millions euros every year and is ‘creating a new class of asylum millionaires’. 

Mr Lawless said it is ‘sad’ that a response of this scale is not being afforded to Irish citizens, and is concerned about the number of nursing homes which are under threat due to ‘spiralling costs’.

There are currently over 1,200 people seeking international protection in Mayo, as well as almost 3,000 refugees from Ukraine living in state accommodation.

Additionally, Mr Lawless said that a high number of people are denied planning permission from Mayo County Council to build. He added that the ever increasing rate of young people emigrating from Ireland to Australia, is due to the ‘the cost of living, largely fueled by the housing crisis in terms of rents and affordable homes’.

The Aghamore-based school teacher said that the Government has ‘failed to meet its own modest housing targets, and failed to meet their own obligations toward the elderly in nursing homes while they have gone above and beyond in housing refugees and asylum seekers’.

He called on the Government to apply ‘fairness, common sense and consistency’ across the board.