Immigration to Ireland - policies, challenges, and solutions *Read OP before posting*

This morning I had to laugh at the news headline that Ireland cannot meet its Agreed Environmental Climate Targets.

No doubt our government will tax us even harder because as we all know, taxing someone is the answer.

However, they completely ignore the fact, that if you import the population of 2 small cities every year, you actually increase your carbon footprint and you will never meet your climate targets.

Actually the underpinning projections explicitly mention strong population growth but zero recommendations in that direction. Shure, if we just slaughter the national herd and triple the price of heat and diesel, it’ll be grand.

I'm an immigrant from the US. I have lived in some pretty diverse places in America, and loved them. I agree with not knowingly letting criminals or welfare leeches into the country, but in my experience people who move country are largely the ones with initiative and energy, while the "locals" tend to be the ones who don't want to work as hard and don't contribute as much to the economy and community. This is a stereotype but I've seen it in several different communities in the US and in Ireland.

The idea that restricting immigration will lead to better social cohesion is ignoring the existing reality in modern Ireland. In my small town, 90% of the people are not from the town - they are economic migrants from all over Ireland (and some from abroad) who moved to get a job closer to Dublin. Whether a person comes from Clare or Ukraine, they are both newcomers and have to establish themselves in the new community. I often hear complaints from people who were born in this town about newcomers taking houses, etc, but it's those same locals who don't seem to have initiative to get a proper job and get themselves out of poverty, instead of waiting for the government to help them. Migrants by definition moved for better opportunity and are willing to make changes in their location and life to get ahead.

Businesses can't hire enough people where I live, immigrants are very welcome as those that come with poor English skills are filling many jobs that were otherwise not being filled.

Culturally, what can I say... I love traditional Irish culture, and we should work hard to preserve it. There are parts of it though that I would be happy to see gone... the drinking, the lazy parenting approach of letting their children trash the town without supervision. These are problems with immigrants too, but to say that the Irish culture is superior is a bit rich.

Great post

I would get rid of the grandfather clause for emigrants and change it to being entitled to a passport if you have Irish parents. I would also end the deal with the uk regarding right of residence and leave it open to people from NI to live here if they choose to get an Irish passport only. Limit numbers coming from the Ukraine - current policy is nuts and be tougher on illegal immigration.

Because he didn't say local Irish.

He said locals, with regard to the different places he has lived.

I don't know the common travel area is around as long as the State, I think. It's been mutually beneficial for both Irish and British people, I would say a lot more Irish people have gone to live and work in the UK then the other way around.

I think if we are trying to limit immigration, that the last place to try it is between Ireland & the UK.

There are things we can do currently, any EU citizens on social welfare needs to go home, unless they are just claiming back credits they have worked, once that is finished they should go home.

I believe anyone not an irish citizen and convicted of a serious offences should be deported after their sentence.

Anyone abusing the visa system needs to go.

I think you're right about passports, they should only be given to Irish citizens, children born to Irish citizens, no grandparents.

The asylum seeker system needs to be sped up, currently it can take years, this is not sustainable. It's not good for anyone and it's not fair to the asylum seekers themselves. Perhaps a court set aside for full time review of appeals, where they can be dealt with quickly.

Saying all that, we are a rich country and our current government seem to be mismanaging the whole place. Maybe too many parties in government will do that, too many compromises. I don't know but they are terrible at providing the services in this country that should be excellent given how much money we have. And that's not the fault of any immigrants, no matter what their status. Blame lies squarely on the government.

What hogwash. Irish people living in Ireland are not a migrants in a political or legal sense. Outside of maybe Dublin and the North, most Irish people share very similar values for the most part, so there's no issue with social cohesion when a Mayo man moves to Sligo, or a Meath man moves to Louth.

Locals bad, immigrants good is how you started this post too, yet you moved to this nation a nation whose culture was made by and retained by said locals. It's the hight of ingratitude to try and frame the Irish in such a manner, when you're a guest in our nation.

It's funny, Irish people complain about foreigners not integrating, but when any non Irish have an opinion on anything about the country they live in, they're not entitled to say it!

It's in this thread and the other thread where a poster basically said an Irish man, who was born in England and lived most of his life here should not have any rights or opinions about life here.

We either want people to integrate and treat this country as their own, or we don't want any outsiders here at all............

So we ignore disparaging bigoted comments towards a whole group of people in order to facilitate integration?

No, we allow people that live in this country to have an opinion on the country. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

You cant shut people down because they weren't born and bred here and have a family tree going back hundreds of years

It go,s both ways alot of Irish people live in the UK other EU country's America .I'm not an expert on this , I hear people come here after 6 months they can work unless they are deported for being an illegal immigrant.gen z probably does not know this upto the Celtic tiger years many young Irish people had to go to the UK or America to get a job and get work experience

Now we have a surplus of jobs. The Celtic tiger was when the Irish economy took off and big tech company's started to come here and we had a building boom

Everyone who lives here is entitled to an opinion on the country.

That's integration

Well, I'm not the original poster so this is the last I'll post on it, I'm sure the poster can stand up for themselves, but

The poster didn't generalise about Irish people. He only stated what I see many people in the country complaining about certain sections of society. He didn't tar all Irish people with the same brush.

And he is living here, so he is entitled to his opinion.