The Prime Minister of Ireland Leo Varadkar has said Georgian and Albanian migrants travelling to Ireland with fake documents are the “big driver” behind what he says is a rise in asylum seekers coming to this country. Varadkar made this statement in an interview with Sunday Independent.

Irish Prime Minister said there has been a 60% increase in asylum seekers in recent years but said we are not being “swamped or flooded”.

As Irish media reports, a total of 450 Georgian nationals sought refugee status in Ireland in 2018, representing 12% of all applicants.

The head of the Irish government made these statements in response to a journalist’s question. The question referred to the plan to build a centre for asylum seekers and protest rallies objecting this initiative.

Georgian Ambassador to Ireland, Giorgi  Zurabashvilli, told The Irish Times “there are no political circumstances for Georgians to seek asylum in any third countries”.

He said his government is working with Ireland to prevent the “unauthorised travel of people abroad” and that to his knowledge, the majority of applications by Georgian nationals for asylum in Ireland are refused.