McDonald calls immigration system “broken” as SF launch immigration policy

Sinn Féin has revealed how it plans to tackle the issue of immigration.

With immigration among the top issues among Irish voters ahead of the November 29th election, Sinn Féin have elaborated on their policy plan for immigration, which they published earlier this summer.

Sinn Féin has proposed creating a new Department of Justice and Home Affairs, similar to what is seen in the United Kingdom.

As part of the overhaul of immigration, the Immigration Management Agency would be established and it would operate under those government departments.

Launching the policy, McDonald said “the current system doesn’t work for anybody.,” and that Sinn Féin’s approach “understands the needs of society, the economy, our public services, and our housing capacity and which understands that every state must control its own borders.”

McDonald criticised the government for having “little to no engagement” with local communities, and that the party would not put International Protection Centres in working class areas.

She said that should Sinn Féin get into government, IPAS would  “only be put in more affluent areas which have the capacity and where the services exist to support them.”

“The Department of Integration would continue to have responsibility for supporting IP applicants who receive asylum status so that they can integrate fully into society and work closely with communities to ensure services and resources are provided,” she explained.

“The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment would continue to process employment permits as normal for the many workers who are playing a valuable role in our economy, including in our health services and in our tech sector.”

She said the system was about “creating a system that works well, works quickly, where rules are enforced.”

“Our plan would safeguard the cohesion of society for all who call Ireland home, ensure fairness for local communities, decency and compassion for those fleeing persecution, and that also commands public support.

“It is based on core values which underpin our approach – equality, economic and social justice, sovereignty and anti-racism.”

Sinn Féin also stood by their decision to cut support for Ukrainian war refugees in 2026.

The Temporary Protection Directive is due to end before March 2026, and Sinn Féin said they would not extend the scheme.

The government failure to produce a roadmap has left many Ukrainians with huge uncertainty about their future in Ireland and the longer this goes on, the more likely a chaotic, crisis-driven unwinding of Temporary Protection, something nobody wants to see,” the policy claims.

Fine Gael TD Jennifer Caroll McNeill said “Sinn Féin loves the money from immigrants in the US but they shun the most vulnerable of immigrants and war refugees in Ireland and have shown so repeatedly in their desperate bid to chase votes.”

Earlier this year, People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy accused the party of “scapegoating” migrants would not support Sinn Féin unless they softened their stance on migration issues.

Murphy believes that Sinn Féin’s stance on migration was “a very very big mistake, both morally and politically,” saying the approach “backfired.”

“It was an absolute disaster because they ended up playing the local and European elections on the pitch and the government wanted to play it on.”

The full Sinn Féin policy on immigration can be read here.