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Refugee crisis creating a political headache for mainstream parties amid dissent in their own ranks

With public concern growing over the number of people coming to Ireland, parties are struggling with how to discuss the issue without sending out the wrong message

Councillors Séamus Walsh and Noel Thomas near the entrance to the former Ross Lake Hotel in Co Galway following the fire on Saturday night. Photograph: Joe O'Shaughnessy

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Cormac McQuinn
Mon Dec 18 2023 - 21:58

It has been clear for some time now that Ireland’s refugee accommodation crisis is going to pose a political headache for Coalition and Opposition parties alike as we head into an election year.

There is undoubtedly much public concern over the number of people coming to Ireland, whether it is refugees from Ukraine or asylum seekers from other countries.

For instance, an Irish Times/Ipsos poll from February saw 84 per cent of respondents saying there is a limit to the number of asylum seekers and refugees Ireland can cope with.

It should be noted that views expressed by the public can be contradictory, with 79 per cent in the same poll saying Ireland should live up to its international obligations to protect people at risk, and a large majority - 70 per cent - saying protests should not be allowed at direct provision centres.

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This year has seen elements on the far right whipping up anti-immigrant protests, often with Government and Opposition parties both being the subject of equal ire.

Perhaps of more concern for Ireland’s mainstream parties are the protests that have occurred around the country against individual refugee reception centres, and contributions some of their own local politicians have made to the debates.

As has been seen in the case of Fianna Fáil in recent days, such interventions can cause some discomfort for party headquarters.

Comments made by two councillors in Galway – Séamus Walsh and Noel Thomas – are now the subject of a review by Fianna Fáil’s internal rules and procedures committee, with the party saying it does not accept “any equivocation in respect of any criminal acts” and does not accept “attempts or suggestions being made to equate migration with increased criminality”.

The pair blamed the Government for creating local tensions over accommodation for refugees in the wake of the fire at a disused local hotel that had been earmarked for 70 asylum seekers.

They said they did not condone the fire but also raised fears over the safety of the local community if asylum seekers were moved to the area. Neither of them were backing down on Monday night.

Local representatives being vocal with concerns over immigration is not unique to Fianna Fáil.

Tom Connolly, a Fine Gael representative, told a meeting of Mayo County Council in April that refugees were being “bulldozed” into communities without any proper consultation.

He said he was not opposed to refugees being accommodated, but “there are over 300 in Claremorris and there will be another 112 when the modular homes are up and running ... We have taken our share and so have other parts of the county.”

Cllr Connolly said at the time he thinks that some Government TDs are “afraid to speak out about the crisis in rural Ireland lest they be dubbed racist”.

Elsewhere, Sinn Féin councillor Aidan Mullins told a Laois County Council meeting in September that Portarlington is a “dumping ground for asylum seekers” as he criticised the Government’s response to the wider housing crisis.

On Monday he confirmed that “senior Sinn Féin officials” have spoken to him about his comments. “Their understandable concern is that those comments could be used by elements trying to cause division or hatred or to damage Sinn Féin.”

He added: “As an elected public representative I have a duty to voice the views and concerns of the majority I represent.

“Why are we avoiding holding a calm, rational debate on immigration?”

As has been seen from the politics of both the US and Britain in recent years, debates on the topic of immigration are rarely calm or rational.

Next year is a big election year with the local and European elections in June and the possibility of a general election.

The leaders of the main parties can expect more dissent over immigration from within their own ranks.

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