An early morning operation to remove tents pitched by asylum seekers earlier this month (Image: PA)

       Ireland’s immigration system on the brink of being overwhelmed - with one businessman saying he has “never seen so much anger and frustration” at the situation.

       Official figures indicate the number of applicants almost tripled in the last year, compared with pre-pandemic levels, with the Irish government pinning the blame on Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda deportation scheme, which it claims is behind 80 percent of the increase.

       The legislation, passed by Parliament last month, will enable the British Government to deport failed asylum seekers to the east African country, with migrants last week saying they would not have travelled to Britain in the first place had they realised. Large numbers of people are understood to have crossed over from Northern Ireland into the Republic in recent weeks.

       Brian Moore, 54, a pub landlord in Drogheda, population 44,000, blames the situation for sharp drop in tourists, with the authorities committed to shelling out ￡21.5 million over the next two years to house asylum seekers at the D Hotel, the town’s largest.

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       He told The Daily Telegraph: “I will have done 40 years in the business next year and I’ve never seen it this bad.

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       Drogheda's D Hotel (Image: Wiki Commons)

       “Everybody’s angry and frustrated but there are not many people speaking out.

       “We lost a charity event for cystic fibrosis. We also lost a 50th birthday party because people travelling down have nowhere to stay.”

       Initially, the Irish government - led by Taoiseach Simon Harris - said the hotel would accommodate up to 500 people - it the fire certification only permits 240 residents. As a result, the annual cost per person will be roughly ￡43,000.

       Ricky Morgan, who runs the shop The Golf Bag over the road from the hotel, added: “You really miss the tourists. You notice from last month. There would be people coming down for parties and family functions. They’d shop around the town and walk around. They’re all gone.

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       Simon Harris, Ireland's Taoiseach (Image: Getty)

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       “It has nothing to do with the poor devils coming in for asylum, God love them. But the government just came in and took the D Hotel.

       “It’s just really sad that this has happened.”

       Despite the Irish government’s move to blame the Rwanda scheme, its figures suggest asylum applications began increasing before it was announced in April 2022.

       Between January and March of that year monthly arrivals increased from 400 to 1,040, with more than 2,000 people turning up last month.

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       Chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council was sceptical about the Irish Government’s emphasis on Rwanda, saying: “We feel 80pc is extremely high. The way the government has calculated that figure is problematic.”

       However, he admitted: “There is no doubt that there has been an increase in the number of people seeking protection. That can in part be attributed to the UK policy.”

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       Mr Sunak is on record as claiming the rise in asylum applications in Ireland underlines the impact his policy is having already.

       More than 1,700 migrants have been sleeping outside after accommodation ran out at the end of last year.

       The sight of migrants pitching tents along Ireland’s famous Grand Canal earlier this month grabbed international headlines.

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