A recent Red C poll published on May 28th in the Sunday Business Post indicates that three in four Irish people think Ireland has admitted too many refugees, a finding echoed by a previous Red C poll published on January 29th, suggesting that 49% of Irish people think the government is doing a bad job at handling the refugee crisis. Ireland has seen dozens of public protests across the country in recent months over the government’s asylum policies, with unprecedented numbers - currently around 74,000, by one estimate - seeking asylum in Ireland (a country with a population of approximately 5 million) from places such as Ukraine, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe.
The public disquiet over Ireland’s refugee policies undoubtedly has a lot to do with the fact that Ireland has a fast-growing population with major infrastructure shortfalls. The public health service is in a shambles, with long waiting lists for routine appointments, the housing rental market is unaffordable to many ordinary people, and many, including dual-income families, cannot afford to buy a home. In this context, it should come as no big surprise that large surges of migrants being settled in hotels and makeshift accommodation, often with little or no consultation with local communities, should spark public anger and resentment.
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Publications like The Guardian have the habit of blaming protests over refugee policies on the “far right,” and pointing to a handful of acts of violence as the manifestation of rabid “anti-refugee sentiment.” But these stereotypes of critics of refugee policy as part of a “far right” mob, all too common in European mainstream media, do nothing to address the disquiet and anger among local people over what is perceived as official contempt and indifference to their legitimate questions and concerns.
If three in four Irish people think the country is bringing in too many refugees, it is pretty ridiculous to suggest that concern over immigration policies is the exclusive badge of racists or “far-right” political movements. It is time for Irish political leaders to wake up to the fact that concern over refugee policies, especially in a country whose health and housing infrastructure is not adequate even for the existing population, is reasonable and understandable, and that citizens’ concerns deserve to be given a fair hearing. This rarely happens in Europe, whose mainstream media and politicians either ignore or demonise people who raise concerns over border policies.
An honest debate over immigration and refugee policies should be capable of recognising the following simple truths:
Immigration and refugee policy, like any other public policy, must be up for public debate. Citizens are entitled to raise questions about an issue that could, potentially, affect the atmosphere and security of their communities, the availability of accommodation, the use of tourist facilities like hotels, and waiting lists for healthcare, without being dismissed as “right-wing nuts.”
The duty of care toward asylum seekers is not unlimited. A country whose housing and health infrastructure is inadequate for its own citizens is not obligated to take in an unlimited number of refugees. Even charity must be proportionate and measured. Just as a well-wishing father should not admit fifteen homeless people into his household without carefully considering the interests of his own family, a government cannot open its borders wide without considering the implications of new arrivals for citizens’ safety, access to public services, housing, and so on.
A thoughtless open borders policy is doing favours to nobody, not even to migrants, since they may well end up living in a country that cannot accommodate their needs, and they may end up being resented by citizens who feel their own accommodation and healthcare needs are being displaced by those of foreign visitors.
Those refugees who arrive in a country are mostly just trying to avail of an opportunity to advance their own welfare and that of their family. It is pointless to blame haphazard, incompetent refugee policies on the refugees themselves. It is the government that must be held accountable for allowing such a crisis to mushroom out of all proportion
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Thanks David. Fine post.
Highlights the contempt & disregard of their own people in Ireland.
Much the same world over. RIP Democracy.
People need to work, and fight if necessary, to make their own country great, like our founding fathers and many others throughout history of the USA and other free countries.
May God give them the strength and wisdom to do so.