A local Sinn Féin TD has claimed that the current immigration system is 'broken'.
His comments come as a protest took place in Mullingar last night against the housing of refugees in Columb Barracks.
Local residents are said to be angry due to the lack of consultation.
120 male asylum seekers will be moved into tents at the end of this month, as the government struggles to find accommodation.
Speaking on the Joe Finnegan show,Sligo-Leitrim TD, Martin Kenny, says a system of checking and upskilling arrivals for employment would help reduce people's fear.
'The system is broken and it has been broken for a long time.
We've had huge difficulties with the system in processing people and the time it takes.
We have so many people out here who are coming to this country with skills, and yet we're not able to match those skills with employment opportunities here.
One of the things we need to do with people coming from Ukraine and from other countries, is we need to get a system where we can pretty quickly get to assess their skills or up skill them so they can not only contribute to the economy but to their own upkeep as well.
I think if we were to do that it will help.'
