Newstalk reported today that 5,000 asylum seekers arrived in Ireland without valid travel documents last year. That is 40% of the total figure. The reply I received to a recent parliamentary question showed that the annual cost of accommodating an asylum seeker is €18,568. The mean wait time for the application to be processed is a year and a half. Thousands of people are waiting two or three years. One person has been waiting 14 years to have their application processed. It is absolutely incredible. However, the total cost of accommodating people who have arrived with false documentation or without documentation is €141 million per year, which is a high figure.

Most Irish people want to do the right thing. They want to make sure that people who are fleeing war, violence and famine get the help they need but they also want to make sure the system is not abused. What will the Government do to make sure the system is not abused?

The Deputy says "abused" but on the documentation issue, basically people come and seek asylum, and under the Geneva Convention and various international conventions we are obliged to consider the application for asylum. Additional resources have been made available to the Department of Justice, in particular, to expedite and accelerate the application process and to get results and outcomes more quickly. We are also looking at stronger controls in respect of abuse issues and are constantly on the lookout. Our officials and teams are constantly on the lookout for any potentially fraudulent-----

People get on flights with travel documents and then they do not have travel documents at the end of the flight.

Please allow the Tánaiste to respond, Deputy. We cannot have interruptions.

In any event, on the broader issue, controls have been stepped up over the last year and a half. We took action in terms of the convention in respect of refugees travelling across Europe because that was being abused in some instances and we dealt with that. It is an ongoing challenge.