Time for a zero refugee policy? - *Read OP for mod warnings and threadbans - updated 11/5/24*

I’m shocked!! :o

What has now started happening, and will accelerate in future no doubt, is that the EU’s newly minted (was it May? when they came to an agreement together and congratulated themselves silly on finding the long awaited solution to the influx) “burden sharing” agreement will start rapidly sinking under the weight of sheer numbers arriving. It will be every country for themselves before you can say “border controls”.

If you read the article though, it's not because they are identifying single male asylum seekers as a 'problem', but simply because they don't want the even worse alternative of women and children refugees left homeless and sleeping on the streets i.e. they think single male refugees would at least be able to cope better with having to sleep rough.

Asylum seekers and homeless people are not accommodated in the same places by the State, so it's very unclear how homeless people could benefit, no matter whether the numbers of asylum seekers arriving were low or high.

However, from a virtue signalling perspective, the unprecedented homeless crisis is the best time to advocate for a continuation of policies. The more extreme the housing shortage the better.

Okay you’re still completely ignoring what I said.

The upside of not having any accommodation and people continuing to arrive is that they will end up sleeping on the streets. In winter. That’s no help to anyone.

We should just say sorry we can’t take anymore, we’ve nowhere to put them.

Yes, if there were loads of available housing going cheap, there would not be the same feeling of moral superiority for them. They feed off the misfortune of local people trying to find accommodation. The current situation has never been better for them.

What do you think of Belgium’s new policy?

Would you prefer to see the singles lads sleeping rough in the winter here or?

There is no accommodation left. Saying we can continue as we have is total head in the sand stuff and I refuse to believe you don’t realise that too.

This post has been deleted...

Former UCD residence halls and now 5 star boutique hotel bought for 23 million will be used to house refugees - obviously a lot more money in it than actually operating as a hotel.

Another boon for our tourism sector

The poster felt the need to come on and write a life story, that's his issue. There is no need to tell anyone about your life, just post actual facts, which he didnt.

He did nothing at all to back up the one (anecdotal) fact he stated in his post. The rest of his post meant nothing. Just rising fear and anger.

Oh, and anyone can trawl through my posts if they like, presume that's the point of having the function.

I haven't seen many facts in your posts to be honest - just attacks on others, unsubstantiated hearsay, and dismissal of anything that doesn't fit with your view on this.

However, the reality is that the "fear and anger" you refer to is nothing of the sort but is instead completely justifiable concern and frustration over measures being taken and negative impacts occurring as a result in communities whose questions and concerns are being flatly ignored by those who are imposing it on them.

You and others like you would have us believe that we live in a backwards insular society, fearful of change or foreigners - when again the reality is anything but as even a cursory look at our history and societal changes over the last 40 years will prove. Ireland has changed massively in that time - mostly for the better - and become an international hub for employment and investment whose people have gladly thrown off the legacy of Catholic oppression and embraced all that has brought with it.

Now yes, the last bit may be a little flamboyant but true nonetheless. Our country has transformed from a poor, agricultural backwater on the edge of Europe, where most of our young had to emigrate for work and prospects (but not handouts I must add!), to where we have welcomed many tens of thousands of migrants who are living and working here for years and decades, and in the course of that have become an attractive destination for many.

But we can never lose sight of the fact that for all our progress, we still have a lot of fundamental structural issues within our country too - healthcare, housing, the rural/urban divide, costs of living, abysmal mental health services or services for those in most need etc etc etc. In other words, our resources are not infinite and we can only do so much because all things have limits. Limits which have been hit and blown through by the current Government and NGOs when it comes to immigration - whether it be refugees, economic migrants who aren't arriving with a job/accommodation already lined up, or any others who arrive at our door.

Virtue signalling, misplaced white or first-world guilt, some sort of unwarranted sense of responsibility or culpability, contrarianism, or whatever other reason(s) that may be behind it will not change that reality.

Jesus it feels like we’re stuck in a rotating door on a roundabout on a waltzer here, you’re just repeating the same points over and over again despite the fact numerous people have addressed them numerous times.

YES the problems with our services are the responsibility of our government NOBODY is denying that or blaming refugees as the root cause of these issues. HOWEVER, adding tens of thousands of people to our already overburdened service systems only makes things worse for everybody, I don’t see how you can possibly deny that.

Trying to dismiss this thread as just “foreigner bashing” is a weak, disingenuous argument, even for you. I can say with a good degree of certainty that the vast majority of people in this thread (and in the country) have absolutely no problem with foreign people or them immigrating to Ireland. I am delighted to see skilled and educated people come to our country happy to work and make it all a more vibrant place. If someone has nothing to offer though and wants to just turn up and avail of one of those free houses they’ve heard about I’m not interested - it doesn’t matter where they’re from. Likewise I can’t just pitch up in Canada or New Zealand or Japan and expect all and sundry. I’d be sent packing and that’s fair enough. We need to get our own shop in order before we try to fix the world.

Finally your conflating of the racist fringe loons protesting outside AS accommodation with the rest of the population is once again disingenuous at best. Numerous public polls have shown the majority of the Irish public are in agreement we are taking too many in beyond our capacity. The reason they aren’t publicly protesting this at government is because of people like you that try to muddy the waters and imply their rather moderate and reasonable views are actually racist and fascist hatred. Nobody wants to be labelled unfairly. Public discourse on the topic has been poisoned hence you only get the shameless loudmouths at either end shouting while the vast bulk have to silently look on.

Also it seems they are allowed to do that at only 19000 but we have as of 2022 81,256.00, a 748.98% increase from 2021. Ireland refugee statistics for 2021 was 9,571.00, a 5.93% increase from 2020 go figure 🤔

Somebody please tell me this is a wind up.

And to think this is the same government that won't fully compensate those affected by Mica.

Absolutely sickening.