I think everyone recognises that we need people coming into this country through the visa system. We need doctors, nurses, people in hospitality and all different types of workers. They are welcome in this country. However, from what we have read last night, we need to have a conversation about illegal immigration. Most politicians are afraid at the moment, as are ordinary people. When you go around the country and talk to people, be it an elderly person or a couple here and there, one to one, they outline the problems they see but they all ask what they can say because they will be called a racist if they open their mouths. Last night, or this morning, what we read in the newspaper is horrendous. I will not go into that in detail. The one question I ask is this. If somebody, regardless of who that person is, is six years in the country, a deportation order was issued six months ago and the State is still paying for their accommodation, there is something seriously wrong. Unfortunately, over the last year or 18 months, we have seen a huge upsurge in knife crime in this country and a huge upsurge in weapons being wielded that we have never seen in this country. We have seen some cultures treating women as second-class citizens, which is not acceptable.

A Cheann Comhairle, this is absolutely disgraceful.

Deputies-----

Here we go.

The Deputy is such a notorious feminist himself.

In the whole immigration process, the Government said it would process an applicant within six months. That has not happened. It is going on for four, five and six years. When will that be resolved? Our system is broken at the moment. The Government has admitted that we have an influx of youngsters and accommodation is very scarce. In Poland, Donald Tusk has decided, because the country has had an influx and could not cope with it, to get a suspension, with the blessing of Europe, under the migration pact. With the pressure on our system at the moment, will the Taoiseach consider that? Will he consider having a full debate in the House without people being put into corners, whether they are right-wing, left-wing or whatever? That needs to happen. The fear of talking about this has to be done away with. We, as representatives of people right around the country, have to say what we are hearing on the ground.

Will the Taoiseach do the things I ask?

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue in a responsible and fair way. I acknowledge that. People are worried and anxious. The Deputy made a fair point at the outset that he is not criticising migration generally or the fact that we now have a country and society that have evolved, with many people of different ethnic origins living in the State who are as Irish as sure as the next man is. We need proper tolerance and equality on that front. As the Deputy correctly said, in our hospitals, our healthcare facilities and our technology companies, the fact that we have absorbed and can draw on a lot of human capital has been a very important ingredient in societal and economic development. That needs to be acknowledged.

The process of seeking asylum in this country has come under huge pressure in recent years. Particularly post the Covid-19 pandemic, the numbers increased dramatically. Side by side with that, there was the war in Ukraine, which caused the displacement of about 12 million Ukrainians. There is also the weaponisation of migration by Russia. The Deputy instanced Poland. On the borders of Lithuania, Latvia and so on and right across Poland, Russia is weaponising migration, sending migrants into those countries as part of its wider war effort.

To get back to Ireland specifically, I agree we need a faster and firm procedure in dealing with those seeking asylum. The majority - I think 60% or 70% - are adjudged to be economic migrants as opposed to seeking refuge if some of the outcomes of the process are taken into account. The International Protection Office is processing much faster and the accelerated cases are within the six months. Yes, the appeal system can take a bit longer, but the Minister is working with a set of proposals to speed up the appeal process. About 3,500 deportation orders were signed this year, compared with about 2,400 last year. Of those, about 1,600 have been confirmed as having left the country, either through voluntary departure or through deportation flights and other mechanisms. Overall, I think the number seeking asylum is down this year by about 30%, maybe.

It is 38%.

Sorry, it is about 38%. There can be different factors responsible for that. We need fast, firm procedures in managing the migration issue. That has to be consistent and sustained. This Government took the decision to bring all this back within the Department of justice, which was the correct decision, in my view, and progress has been seen in that respect. I agree that there would be no harm at all in having a proactive debate on these matters and that we should do so.

I have had a few conversations with the Minister for justice and I acknowledge that he is trying to make changes. The reality, however, is that it is neither good for the person looking for asylum or good for the State if something is dragging on for six years. Those are the facts of the matter. Two years ago, I chased up on the question of how somebody is identified and we were told by the Garda at the time that the process was fool-proof. It has since been proved not to be fool-proof. We need to make sure, in relation to identification, that we know who is coming into the country. I welcome what the Taoiseach has said. We need a debate here. We need to tighten up and bring in new legislation in order that this does not drag on for four, five or six years. Accommodation-wise, we will not be able to sort it and, on top of that, as a country, we will not be able to afford the cost of it.

All those seeking asylum are fingerprinted when they come into the country under the Eurodac system. In 2024, 67% of completed appeals were rejected, and so far in 2025, more than 80% of applications have been rejected at first instance.

I accept the Deputy's point if people are here. It is neither fair to the person nor to the country if this system is allowed to drag out for years and years. The focus in the past number of years has been on tightening up and speeding up the process itself.

We have more than doubled the number of deportation orders signed over the same period last year. The specifics are that 3,583 orders have been signed in 2025 compared to 1,792 this time last year. That is what it says on the note I have but I thought it was a higher figure. There has been about a 40% reduction in the numbers of people arriving here claiming asylum. However, there are issues we need to tighten up on.