We have reached crisis point trying to accommodate refugees from Ukraine. This morning I received a reply to a parliamentary question from the Minister for Justice. It states that 3,254 people arrived in this country without documentation in the first eight months of the year. This breaks down to 400 a month or 100 a week. The reply also states these individuals presented full documentation when they boarded at their point of departure. When they arrived at Dublin Airport they had no documentation. What is going on? We are trying to accommodate people who have a right to be looked after. If people have no documentation when they arrive, surely there must be some checks. The sheer amount in eight months is crazy. Do we have enough police at immigration in Dublin Airport? I do not believe we do. These are very frightening figures. They are from the Minister for Justice I will forward the Tánaiste the reply I received.

I thank the Deputy. I have not seen the figures. We do have a problem with people entering the country illegally. This is the case and has been for quite some time. Sometimes people are not properly checked when they get on the plane. That happens in a different jurisdiction and there is very little we can do about it. Other times people use false documents. Sometimes, people destroy their documents. If people present at the airport to claim asylum and have no documents, it is very difficult for us to send them back. These are the practical difficulties that we face. Even without documents, people are entitled to apply for asylum. We have been increasing checks and increasing engagement with the airlines. We remind airlines they have a responsibility not to allow people to board unless they have the right documents and they have to take them back. We must also ensure that we have the checks at the airport.