Ireland’s Sinn Féin has toughened its immigration stance after performing poorly in local and European elections.

The country’s main opposition party will set out its new policy on Tuesday, which will include a pledge to audit local services in any area earmarked for an asylum reception centre.

It comes after riots and arson attacks against a proposed asylum centre in Coolock in Dublin and other protests around the country, which is in the grips of a long-standing and acute housing crisis.

The number of people seeking asylum in Ireland almost doubled in the first six months of this year, compared to the same period in 2023. There were 10,604 claims made by the end of June, a 93.9 per cent increase on the 5,470 last year.

The idea of the audit is to ensure no new centres are built in places where services such as health, housing, transport and education are already under pressure.

Sinn Féin will also call for the end of a “two-tier system”, in which Ukrainians enjoy better conditions than other asylum seekers from other countries, The Irish Times reported.

There are 104,315 Ukrainian refugees living in Ireland, which has a population of just over 5m people.

Earlier this year, the government cut their welfare payments to reduce numbers arriving in Ireland, where refugees have had to be put in tent accommodation.

Party leader Mary Lou McDonald hopes the announcement will reset relations with Sinn Féin’s base, which has tougher views on migration than the party, before a general election which must be held by March.

She will insist the new policy is based in “equality, anti-racism and human rights”. The new system will be one in which “fairness is paramount” and in which “local communities are treated with respect”, she will say.

Sinn Féin had a commanding lead in the polls for much of the last two years but their support collapsed in local and European elections in June.

It bled support to government parties and hard-Right independent politicians, which had outflanked them on immigration, which has become a major issue in Ireland.

Sinn Féin finished behind Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, the dominant two parties in Ireland’s three-way coalition in both votes in a major blow to the party which harbors ambitions of government.

Its vote share fell to 12 per cent after long periods in recent years when its support was above 30 per cent .

Sinn Féin completed a review into the results last week. Ms McDonald said then, “I think there was a frustration among a section of our base that they weren’t being heard.

“And there was a belief that we didn’t have their backs and we didn’t reflect adequately, consistently and loudly enough the concerns that decent people have.”