Politics

‘We’ll see by the end of the night’ if Government approach to migration is a ‘PR boon to Tory party’, says Martin

Tánaiste dismisses ‘right-wing Tory press’ claims over sending gardaí to Border, tells Social Democrats TD not to ‘get taken in by the Telegraph’

Gary Gannon: he asked 'when is this shambolic Government going to get its act together and get a proper plan in place on migration'. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Marie O'Halloran
Thu May 2 2024 - 19:00

Tánaiste Micheál Martin has again insisted that there are no checkpoints at the Border as he dismissed claims that the Government’s “shambolic” approach to migration was a PR boon to the Tory party in their local and general election campaign.

Mr Martin said “we’ll see by the end of the night whether it’s been a PR boon or not”, in reference to the local elections currently under way in the UK.

He also dismissed a front-page story in the Daily Telegraph, which he dubbed the “right-wing Tory press” about British prime minister Rishi Sunak “imploring the Irish Government not to set up checkpoints at the Irish Border” and “urging the Taoiseach to maintain an open border”.

The issue was raised by Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon, who said “you couldn’t make this stuff up”.

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Mr Gannon said the “Government’s panicked, reactive shambolic approach to migration is not just causing chaos and division in Irish society it is a PR boon to the Tory party in their general election campaign”.

He referred to reports of a Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on Wednesday evening in which the Tánaiste said that communications and engagement in relation to migration had to improve “on all fronts, this far into the chaos”.

The Dublin Central TD said that “every couple of months you’ve promised that you will improve communications”. He added that “it’s very hard to communicate a plan for migration that you very clearly don’t have”.

Mr Gannon asked “when is this shambolic Government going to get its act together and get a proper plan in place on migration”.

“Get it together, Tánaiste”.

Mr Martin told him: “You couldn’t make it up really – a left-wing Deputy like yourself invoking the right-wing Tory press to attack the Irish Government. And you’re taking the Telegraph seriously?”

Mr Martin said they would see by the end of the night whether there was a PR boon or not. “There’s obviously no one at any border. There are no checkpoints at the Border.

“But I remember actually when I met a former British prime minister, in my time as Taoiseach, when there was a blazing headline across the British press that ‘the frigates are going to France’.”

Mr Martin told Mr Gannon that “you have to really stand back and just reflect a bit. Don’t get taken in by the Telegraph, Deputy.”

A political row broke out between the Irish and British governments when Mr Sunak said the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda to have their claims processed was already acting as a deterrent. Government figures revealed that 80 per cent of asylum seekers in the State are now arriving from Northern Ireland and the UK said it would not accept their return.

Taoiseach Simon Harris has also said gardaí will not be sent to police Border areas but 100 were being redeployed to frontline immigration duties.

Marie O'Halloran

Marie O'Halloran

Marie O'Halloran is Parliamentary Correspondent of The Irish Times

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