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

Looks like a scenario that could easily become reality .

But we already have 'indigenous' groups of this type

Only they have up to now failed to attract any electoral support...

We’ve spent (and will continue to spend) billions on them - I’d like to see this spending largely curtailed.

We’re currently seeing a recruitment freeze in the HSE despite the country being awash with tax revenues.

Those revenues should be improving our country, not putting thousands of people up in hotels indefinitely and throwing ridiculous levels of free money at them.

You conveniently forget the cost of accommodating Ukranian refugees 5.5 Billion allocated this year . The highest welfare rates in the EU . We also had a record number of asylum seekers last year which adds to the cost and to August the the number is 7657. There will be Palestinian refugees coming soon . Do we just continue taking in refugees until it becomes unsustainable . The money spent could have been used for Irish citizens. The only logic to not providing social houses to Irish citizens is that many are in rent arrears . I doubt migrant refugees will be any better .

id be interested in seeing where he said this???

like many, mcwilliams has continuously lambasted government policy for the serious fcuk up that is our property markets, the fact that its been their main objective to do whatever it takes to keep property and land prices elevated, via polices such as first time buyers grants etc, the implementation of such polices globally is known to further increase property prices....

...other criticisms for mcwilliams would be the serious lack of will by governments to implement other policies such as lvt's(land value taxes), to try reduce land hoarding of which is near epidemic proportions here....

...mcwilliams has spent much of his career heavily criticizing other policies such as the financialisation of our property markets, whos main aim is simply to extract as much wealth from our property markets, by any means possible, in particular my maintaining inflated property markets...

...mcwilliams has in fact always been very pro immigration, for various different reasons, including in trying to resolve our property problems....

his latest take on our property markets, and other matters....

https://player.fm/series/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast/when-mantras-replace-hard-thinking-the-case-of-the-irish-budget

And when has that ever stopped a u-turn in the past? Of course say FF could seize the initiative - they only have to shift their position to that of more regulation and control of immigration. When asked to justify, they can just quote the changing circumstances of world affairs. Look at the tacit support that Peter Casey received from many voters in last presidential. There are a lot of Irish citizens & voters increasingly affected by the influx and when it starts to affect the 'middle classes', attitudes change.

I say FF as I think FG are too long in government to credibly change on this. Labour and SDs unlikely due to own internal thinking. SF could very easily given their core belief in nationalism but seem afraid to go there publicly. They are afraid of anything that might rock the boat in terms of the perception of their vote in next election - it's steady as she goes and say nothing. They wouldn't be in step though with their core vote on this. If their ratings change though I think this would be an obvious policy strategy for them. Just too risky at the moment.

But FF are on a hiding to nothing anyway, they should grab their opportunity while they can and harvest a sizable vote.

..

There was a clip going around a while ago from his show over a decade ago.

Can't find it now, but you'll have to take my word for it (hard in this day and age I know. 😃)

I was surprised too to be honest. Found the link but blocked by Xs Robots 😃. I'll DM

No evidence that the six main parties are out of step on immigration and refugees with the general population. A relatively small number of people making a lot of noise on social media about this is no 'silent majority'.

yea as much as possible, so we can all make a proper judgment on the clip, but again, ive been following him for years now, i have a fairly good idea of his work....

i wouldnt necessarily say he was pointing out downsides, but probably more so, if you dont invest, you eventually get fcuked, as we currently are, i suspect this is what he was truly getting to in that show, i suspect he realised this many years, he could see we werent advancing our infrastructure, failing to invest, and now we are where we are, i.e. fcuked property markets, fcuked health care system, fcuked transport infrastructure, etc etc etc. you cant keep doing that, and get away with it, it ll eventually all catch up with you, as it is right now...

yup, we re at full employment so theres simply no humans to start resolving our most critical issues, therefore we gotta import them to do so, or else...

Yes there is lots of evidence.

The Irish public are not die-hard xenophiles and not delighted with immigration especially at such a large scale - but nor are they willing to switch from the main parties to be led by a procession of unknowns and weirdos like Irish Freedom Party, National Party.

A political realignment is desperately trying to take form and being successfully being blocked from taking shape by the main parties. But if the main parties simply ignore the issue and pretend it doesn't exist then I agree with marno upthread that we are launching ourselves into a realm of the unknown.

The stubborn commitment of the mainstream center-left to mass immigration all over Europe and the Western world despite what disaffected native populations want is driving strange changes and surprises all over and I doubt we have seen the last of these surprises.

They are, although FG are more of a synthesis lately (in some respects, not economic obviously).

My post is all over the place so sorry for the confusion but I meant that in contradistinction to the Danish left-wing (where immigration is discussed and opposed on labour protectionist justifications) the mainstream Euro centre-left will not budge on this issue.

On this understanding, the centre-right is the natural home of immigration as the immigrant and capital are the beneficiaries and Bernie Sanders maintained this as a position for years. I think, but I'm not certain, Jeremy Corbyn may have also been opposed or at least had mixed feelings about immigration also.