Anti Immigration Sentiment

Just curb it somewhat and maintain immigration access for applicants with skills/experience in required areas?

Pay proper wages for a start

I'm consistent. I have as much of a problem with the Irish overstaying visas in America as I do with the plethora of spongers we have coming to this country.

Honestly I don’t think there is a good anti immigration viewpoint bc let’s be honest the basis of the viewpoint is pure bigotry and racism.

We had a population increase of 100,000 in the 12 months to April 2023. Surely, it is simple maths, any significant increase will require additional services and employees throughout the economy. Likewise, any significant reduction will result in less pressure on schools, hospitals, housing etc. which will require less jobs to be filled.

Maybe I'm missing something, please inform me if I am, all I know is the public health system is in significant trouble and this impacts on anyone with a chronic illness and/or a disability.

The optics around immigration are terrible.

The Irish government plámased the Irish public for years over homelessness, but opened the purse immediately when the eyes of the world were on us over Ukrainian refugees.

Personally I think Ukrainian refugee status should be revisited. Western Ukraine is as safe as Poland at this stage and the war is so static that most of central Ukraine is very safe also.

The immigration office should clearly publish how many people are arriving in Ireland and what visa they're arriving on. The information is there, but it's a little difficult to access and definitely not widely publicised.

For instance there is approx 30k working visas issued so far this year, most to Indian workers, and mostly for healthcare workers. Fantastic news, but the average person on the street wouldn't know this. They would just see a lot of non-irish faces in the street.

The pressure on schools, hospitals and housing due to the increase in population is due to a shortage of teachers in schools, doctors and nurses in hospitals and builders to build more houses and people generally in the workforce. To solve this problem of lack of personnel, immigration needs to increase.

I think the sentiment has always been there. It's just being amplified more at the moment, and people feel more empowered to say the quiet bits out loud.

Possibly will help somewhat. But on a practical level unless the numbers yet to make their way over to us and who end up in such accommodation is curbed, and supervised deportations happen, the problem will build up again surely?

That is not the point being made. Either the country is too dangerous to live in hence the refugee status here, or it's safe. I think people looking on often wonder why they left the country on a refugee program because of danger to life, yet can visit for a holiday/Christmas and feel safe there. It's a fair question really.

The issue is deliberately mis-framed in multiple ways by media and others. People who should know better accept and repeat glib formulas about 'fuelling economic growth'. They don't ask about the precise nature of this growth, who is benefitting from it and how (e.g. per capita GDP vs general GDP vs GNP), and would rather not inquire too much into it.

Other, even less wise people, insist that the crux of the issue is either we commit to opening our borders open-endedly or else we're all guilty of the nastiest kind of racial prejudice. This is demagoguery and not honest nor level-headed.

There are social, economic, cultural, infrastructural issues around large-scale mass immigration and even issues of democracy and governance, as the Government steamrolls over the will of the people and says "I'm not asking for your permission bro!"

For this post I'm going to talk about one economic aspect...

From the business ownership lobbyist/Chamber of Commerce POV turning Ireland into a denationalised economic 'zone' with vast, inbound population transfers is mainly a mechanism to suppress wages. There may be economic booms in the future but concomitant booms in wages will be short-lived and accidental if they occur at all, as the open door to EU immigration makes it difficult for wage rises in any industry to get off the ground. Don't expect any more Celtic Tigers.

I'll give an example of which I have first-hand knowledge. From around 2021 until recently there was a shortage of construction workers in Ireland and a consequent boom in wages. Out of the blue and unsolicited in 2021 people were being offered €20 an hour for general labourer work. Similar work was hovering around the €14 mark in 2018 - a sudden rise of over 25%. That has tapered off now and it has recently become more difficult to find construction work - not true of all construction niches obviously, but true in general - and wages are starting to decline again with some people I know getting pessimistic and calling it a "race to the bottom". The rate per hour rises over the last 2 years drew in more workers from within the native Irish population, which is what happens when a slice of the population readjusts its priorities in response to economic incentives.

There are still a LOT of roles in construction but they are filled quickly and there are many people who can't get jobs. So labour shortage solved. Great. Happy ending.

Yet the other day an 'expert' (bureaucratic mouthpiece) on RTÉ was a complaining about the "labour shortage in Construction". Err what?

Newsflash: To Establishment people the 'shortage' is only over when there is a HUGE labour glut and a dip in wages. They are trying to bid down the price of labour. They will lobby for an oversupply of workers, in every industry. Employers can then have their pick, and the insecurity this creates weakens both trade unions' basic negotiating position as well as that of individual workers.

I don't have an issue with legal immigration. What I have a MAJOR issue with is Economic Migrants/Illegal Immigrants.

Every country needs immigrants, however, our system is broken.

Refusal of entry means a merry go-round of Free Legal Aid and free basically everything until the appeal is heard. Deportation rarely happens or as in the case of our Stabbing "citizen" you gain citizenship (how? I just amazed!)

People who come to Ireland SHOULD have proper documentation. No Passport... straight on the next plane out. That's Simple.

I have been through the immigrant process. It has cost me thousands, It has taken years. I have never been a burden on the Country I am in. I have worked. I have my passport and have never lost it. My skills are in demand and I have worked my way through, due to my then employer ( now business partners) not being able to find someone to do my job.

Refugees are another story. However, the same rules apply if you are a refugee as an Irish citizen. Obey the laws (I know that is not an Irish thing in reality). You are still trying to become an integrated member of your host country, its not that difficult. Learn the ways and the language a little....lord knows there is a HUGE amount of money spent on this.

Are you sure about that 1% figure?

Here is some data from 2018:

https://assets.gov.ie/180720/8c9ba2c8-521f-453b-b8d2-758dfd787bce.pdf

There was a net migration to ireland of 77k up to April 2023. That's a population increase of around 1% - if your services can't deal with that increase it's down to **** services. Its also hardly a mass migration, open borders policy or the invasion some would have you believe. There are no foreign ghettos or no-go areas (which is an issue in places like france).

immigration…

more demand for housing.

pushes up the cost of housing and rent.

contributes to increased hospital waiting lists.

contributes to increased demand on virtually all public services… transport, education etc…

such population growth is unsustainable….

• On Census Night, Sunday, 03 April 2022, the population of Ireland was 5,149,139.
• The figure increased by 387,274 people since April 2016.
• This represents total growth of 8.1% over the six years since Census 2016, or an annual average increase of 1.3%.
• In the previous intercensal period, 2011 to 2016, the total growth was 3.8%, or an annual average increase of 0.7%.

3.8% to 8.1%….in a very short time…

And, while they're here, get praised for being industrious and hard working and more reliable than the natives in the same jobs. They're happy to be here, and sure they're returning then coming back. Some might even become citizens and raise the level of hard work in Ireland, which would be a good thing.

If I were you, I'd book a holiday to Kyiv to verify your hypothesis that it's not a war zone. Have a good trip.

They’re not no

But many of them are not “actual” asylum seekers either. Many are economic migrants taking advantage of our soft touch system to gain residency here.

Anyone arriving on a plane from a designated safe country claiming they “lost” their passport should be told to piss off.

How many times have you lost your passport mid flight? I’m not saying it can’t happen but it would be extremely rare. Strangely this rare occurrence happens to a large portion of apparent asylum seekers arriving here.

I’m then happy for our country to take asylum seekers, but with the caveat they are at least genuine. We are far too lax currently.

I know of a number of councillors who are collecting big money housing the asylum seekers. Their hotels would be run down 1/2 star type places.

FF and FG mainly.

Just to add - these establishments were not exactly flat out with business before they became migrant centres - You’d guess far more profitable now.

Tried that in UK with Brexit and it's failed.

We need people in services like cleaning, hospitality industry etc.

The economy needs these people more than importing accountants and solicitors that anti-immigrant people want.

If the Irish are so feckless and lazy, how did Ireland get to be allegedly among the richest countries in the world? And btw I agree with you that the Ukrainians will prove to be excellent citizens in general. Culturally similar and no requirement for special status or different rules.

You're partly right. The issue is housing and not enough housing being available or affordable or being built to meet demand.

This is not the immigrants fault.

The level of illegal immigration is tiny and anti immigrants (racists really) link refugees with illegal immigrants . There's nothing illegal about claiming asylum in a country.

Also, the vast majority of immigrants that come here are working and contributing to society and the economy. They're not entitled to social welfare or HAP and they numbers that get is greatly exagerrated by anti immigrant mob.

Do you think the people who wrecked the city centre on Thursday were all in work the next day or living off social welfare?

Irish natives do not have a reputation for being unreliable in the first place, so what makes Ukrainians "more reliable"?

I wonder are you just re-purposing propaganda for domestic consumption...because it has been said over and over (I've seen it in many contexts) that Poles are more reliable than homegrown British people within Britain.

Do you know lots of Irish people who don't show up for work and get fired, don't do any work while at work, or else what are you basing this on?

Pay proper wages yourself.

All these people who have solutions that other people should do.