Tanaiste says asylum system needs to speed up but rejects idea of closed borders

"I think we should have a firm and fair system and it should be speedier and more effective in terms of people who seek asylum. Many applicants turn out to not be really entitled to asylum," he said.

"The (Irish assessment) process has taken too long over the last number of years. It is improving significantly in terms of speed but it needs to improve even further and we also have designated more safe countries which allows for a speedier processing of people seeking asylum."

"I think the problem more generally is that there is too much war and conflict and horrible things happening all over the world. I have witnessed that myself in parts of the world that I have visited more recently - (in) Africa with millions of people displaced in Sudan for example. That is driving migration."

"We built and delivered over 10,000 social homes for our population over the last year. The number of modular homes are very..."

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