Veteran criminal and Dublin Central byelection candidate Gerry Hutch has rejected claims that recent comments he made about immigrants were racist.
However, he said: “If I said something that was racist, I apologise.”
In a social media post on Sunday, Hutch – who came close to claiming the fourth and final seat in the constituency in the 2024 general election – said “illegal immigrants”, including Somalis, who were “mooching” their way into the country, should be interned in the Curragh.
However, speaking on Wednesday night as he left a public meeting in Ballybough calling for protections for special needs assistants, he told The Irish Times: “We were in the club and I was talking to a lad and a few things came up.
READ MORE
“I’m not racist. I have friends – Indians, blacks, whites, all colours. I’m certainly not racist.”
Gerry Hutch’s assets: On the trail of a Dublin gang leader turned politician
However, he said anyone who arrived into Ireland without a passport or documentation should face sanctions.
“I will say if you come into Ireland and you have no paperwork, you should not be put into a hotel and given a few quid... Listen, there are people coming into the country and we don’t know who they are. I don’t think they should be put into hotels and given money. I’m not into that,” he said.
Organisations working with asylum applicants say there are different reasons why an applicant might arrive in the State without proper documentation,. They point out that in some cases it may be strategic, while in other cases it may be because individuals had to flee countries under extreme circumstances.
The courts have described Hutch as the figurehead of the Hutch crime gang and the head of the Hutch family. He is currently being pursued again by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) for almost €800,000 and is a suspect for the two biggest cash robberies in Ireland in the 1980s and 1990s.
The 63-year-old father of five, who has for years lived mostly in Lanzarote, is under investigation in Spain where he is suspected of being the leader of an international money-laundering group. He is also under investigation for allegedly inducing the release of confidential information from inside the Garda Síochána.
Green Party candidate Janet Horner said Hutch’s comments on immigration, particularly singling out the Somali community, were “prejudiced, harmful and straight out of the Donald Trump playbook”.
“People coming to Ireland seeking refuge are entitled to be treated with the same dignity and respect as everyone else and should not be singled out on nationality, race or any other factor,” she said.
In the social media post on Sunday, Hutch – who was being interviewed by Dublin city councillor Gavin Pepper in the Corinthians Boxing Club in the city centre – said immigrants were coming into the country from Britain and France “because it’s a freebie and they’re getting paid”.
“I think they should be all interned,” he said. “They should be put in the Curragh camp until they’re sorted, and fed, not given any money, not given any houses.”
He seemed to single out those from Somalia, saying they were illegal and should “be put back on the boat”.
His comments have been strongly criticised by most of the other candidates in the byelection.
A Department of Justice spokesman said where a non-EEA national presents without documents, or with false or fraudulent documents, “they can be refused entry to the State”.
An immigration officer will arrange for the person to be removed from the State.
“The priority is to return them on the next available flight to the last point of embarkation,” said a spokesman. If a person indicates however that they wish to apply for asylum, or is identified as in need of asylum, they are admitted to the international protection process regardless of whether they have documents or not.
“All applicants who enter the international protection process are fingerprinted and photographed. These fingerprints are checked against Eurodac, an EU database which stores the fingerprints of asylum applicants and those who have been found to cross borders illegally,” the spokesman said.
Polling day is May 22th.
