Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has defended changes to the migration system, rejecting criticism that the tightening of rules is disproportionally focused on asylum seekers.
The proposals, announced yesterday, also affect people who are in Ireland on employment visas as well as those seeking family reunification.
They include a five-year wait for those who are granted refugee status before they can apply for citizenship.
Those seeking full citizenship would be given preferential treatment if they were working while people would have to wait longer before other family members can join them in Ireland.
Mr O'Callaghan told RTÉ's Today with David McCullagh that the citizenship change "applies to everyone, whether they've obtained residency in Ireland through an asylum application, or indeed, if they're working here on work permits".
He said the proposals also focus on people who have come to Ireland on temporary protection, which is different, as opposed to the International Protection process.
The Government said the population is rising at a rate 1.5% each year, seven times the European Union average, and it must make decisions on migration that takes account of this "extraordinary growth".
Watch: Minister defends proposed changes to immigration rules
Mr O'Callaghan said that while the numbers seeking asylum are "not the majority" of this, they are "a significant proportion".
"It would be a denial of reality if I was to say that people seeking asylum isn't a more complicated and contentious issue, that other people can come here.
"But I suppose if people are coming in here claiming asylum, we have obligations. We have to provide accommodation. That means me getting centers around the country where they can be accommodated.
"Secondly, we have to put in place a processing system and an appeal system that is very complicated and thirdly, like in terms of visas, I can control that, because I assess people in advance before they come in.
"When it comes to people claiming asylum, as they're entitled to, they can just arrive and claim asylum. So it's a less controlled aspect of the immigration."
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Mr O'Callaghan said he believed that proposed changes to family reunification rules are fair, adding that he "can't ignore the fact" that Ireland is one of the few countries in Europe that does not require proof of accommodation, prior to arrival.
"You have to be able to establish that you have suitable accommodation for the person you're asking to bring into Ireland. I think that's perfectly reasonable.
"People make decisions to come to Ireland for work, to work for a variety of reasons, and the main reason, I suspect, is because there's employment opportunities here, That's the driving motivator.
"We're not closing it off. We're changing it, and we're entitled to change it," he said.
"Maybe you think it's unfair on the person who's applying for reunification, but I also have to take into account the interests of the Irish public in terms of the cost of bringing people into the State."
Mr O'Callaghan also defended the standard of the International Protection Accommodation Service, saying the accommodation is much higher than it is in the vast majority of other European countries.
Defending a proposal for applications to make a contribution to accommodation costs, he said: "If you're an applicant and you're working, and very many people who are International Protection applicants are working, it's only reasonable that you make a small contribution towards your accommodation costs".
Mr O'Callaghan said that immigration is not the part of the job that he wants to spend most of his time talking about but acknowledged that he "has the levers that can try to control the numbers that are coming in".
Changes to migration system 'unnecessary' - rights group
A refugee and migrant rights organisation has said that planned changes to immigration laws will make the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in our society more difficult.
Doras - an independent, non-profit, non-governmental group - described the proposals as "unnecessary".
"They’ll make it a lot more difficult for International Protection applicants who get their refugee status to get on with their lives, to integrate into Irish society," Chief Executive John Lannon told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
"The Government is essentially making it more difficult for people who escaped war and persecution to do that, to settle in Ireland.
"The measures proposed will do nothing to end those wars or the persecution or to reduce the need for people to come here to seek protection.
"If you look at the proposed accommodation charges, they're going to push people who are already struggling to get by deeper into poverty.
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"We have to bear in mind that the vast majority are already living in substandard, unregulated accommodation. Hundreds are living in cold, damp tents right now.
"Many are in part-time precarious jobs, they're supporting their families on very limited income, they have to rely on public transport systems, no place for the children to play or do homework, no social networks or families to rely on, so childcare is costly and impossible to come by in some cases."
Mr Lannon said the situation will be made even more difficult if the Government wants people to contribute to their accommodation.
They should be given "the same supports that everyone else gets," he said.
"There are over 9,500 children in IPAS (International Protection Accommodation Service) accommodation right now, that's nearly a third of the total population, who do not receive Child Benefit.
"They are the only cohort of children in the country who do not get that support every week."
Mr Lannon said the people he works with are "baffled" by the proposed family reunification and citizenship changes.
