Mayor of Limerick's comments branded 'racist'

CONTROVERSIAL COMMENTS by the Mayor of Limerick, who has called for the deportation of EU nationals who fail to secure employment…

CONTROVERSIAL COMMENTS by the Mayor of Limerick, who has called for the deportation of EU nationals who fail to secure employment in Ireland, have been branded “ill-informed” and “racist” and have led to calls for his resignation.

Fine Gael councillor Kevin Kiely made the remarks in an interview with the Limerick Leader newspaper, in which he called for a review of social welfare payments to non-Irish nationals, given the current economic crisis.

There is no legal basis for deporting unemployed EU nationals.

When contacted yesterday Mr Kiely said he was standing over the comments, which he insisted were aimed at EU nationals who are abusing Ireland’s “generous social welfare system”.

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A spokesman for Fine Gael said Mr Kiely was speaking in a personal capacity and it was “not the stated view of the party”.

Labour MEP Alan Kelly described Mr Kiely’s comments as “outrageous” and called on him to step down.

The Limerick mayor insisted yesterday he was not racist and he would not be stepping down. “I’m calling for anybody who is living in the State and who can’t afford to pay for themselves to be deported after three months,” he told the Limerick Leader.

Mr Kiely added that he had no problem with foreign nationals who had worked and settled here and who had since lost their jobs, saying these people were perfectly entitled to help from the State.

“The people I am talking about are the non-nationals that are coming in here on a weekly basis and they are coming in here because of our generous social welfare system,” he said.

“I’m asking the relevant Minister to give instructions to departments right around the country to monitor these people and, if they are not looking for work, there should be some situation or some measure where before a period of say, three to six months, if they can’t find employment that they should be returned to the country of their origin.”

Former Fine Gael MEP John Cushnahan said he wished to dissociate himself with Mr Kiely’s “unacceptable” comments.

Mr Kelly said the mayor’s views were “more in line with those of Nick Griffin of the BNP, than with the people of Limerick”.

A spokeswoman for the Immigrant Council of Ireland said Mr Kiely’s “ill-informed comments are more likely to fuel antiimmigrant sentiment by creating resentment against people who have a right to live here”.