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

The welfare payment to Ukrainians left me baffled... it was Martin we can't send tanks? Well lets be the best little country to pay the biggest welfare rates... by god I want them slaps on the back from the EU...

On a serious note, I had no issue paying this amount for a short period of time... but it's simply gone beyond a joke now.

Even worse they have been told they can return home for Christmas and not loose there state provided accommodations ,

But if your homeless in emergency accommodation and you don't stay for a number of nights you get kicked out of that accommodation and your room is given to someone else

Most of the removed posts are blatant racism as far as I can tell

"The times they are a changing"

Fascinating interview with Geert Wilders.

Skip forward to about 3:00

1st point; Cut back on the enormous figures for immigration and asylum, take measures to stop the enormous amount of asylum seekers & non-western immigration into Holland.

2nd point; Dutch people tired of being 2nd class citizens in their own country, says asylum seekers skip the queue for housing etc.

3rd point; People are no longer afraid to say they vote for his party and are actually proud to say they do - this is huge for it's implications on the main stream parties. The Dutch right is here to stay.

4th Point and this is often overlooked/ignored by political hacks, NGO's etc - Immigrants are themselves in favour of strict controls/limits on asylum seekers, this is because they recognize and are aware essentially that resources are limited in an economy (that's ECONOMICS 101 for the dopes out there).

You can deny reality for a certain period of time but eventually the chickens come home to roost.

The Govt here would do well to wake up and small the air of discontent that is out there, everybody is talking about how the Ukrainians are getting too much welfare for example.

A simple fix would be to scale back and reduce their (ALL Ukrainians not just newcomers) welfare to that of those in direct provision.

Encourage them to work, If they worked instead of lived off welfare (and don't give give that baloney about them working, very few are working full time as they would lose their benefits as it currently stands). Pretty much everybody would accept them; but welfare leeches - It won't happen, the resentment will just grow and grow, it's beyond time to nip the grandiose entitlements in the bud.

Renowned Economist Milton Friedman famously said; "It's just obvious you can't have free immigration and a welfare state,"

The way the political establishment (FF,FG, SF, GREENS and the left) are heading, this is fast looking like becoming a bigger shitshow than the financial crisis of 2008.

My concern is that we don't have a Geert Wilders type out there, with leadership qualities, that represent the quiet majority. Let's face it, there will be a few anti-immigration independents, Farming Alliance and perhaps Aontu representatives on the fringes come election time but do they really have what it takes to emerge as a legitimate, collective force to go against the mainstream parties.

Likewise, any attempt at holding a peaceful protest, similar to the anti water charge protests, is going to attract the Foot Locker crowd and ruin it for the majority resulting in rushed legislation and more pontificating on the part of the Government.

It's really challenging and concerning.

Indeed we don't, and the problem with votes for any Right parties is the generally have views from dinosaur times. Anti abortion, anti LGBT, I wouldn't like to see a Right Wing government but we are nowhere near any of that yet. I will be looking for an independent to vote personally.

Think Fitzmarice is been approached to be a MEP so might leave the Dail.

Aontu are anti-abortion so I'm sure that will go against them.

Heard a Healy Rae on the radio yesterday on about consulting locals when international protection applicants are moving to areas around Kerry .

He had no come back when asked did he consult locals when he took in Ukrainian refugees in B&bs he bought in the Tralee area. 500k a year he is getting from the tax payer. Joke. Speaking out both sides of his mouth.

Gary Murphy in today’s Sunday Times reckons we are taking in Ukraine refugees in proportion to our population. We have 100k Ukraine refugees compared to France 130k Ukraine refugees, a country of 70 million

The void you mention will likely be filled by the current parties who will make vague promises before the election which they will not deliver on.

I expect the next election to get much closer to a US/UK style of campaigning, nasty and more blatant lies. The population will lap it up.

My preference would certainly be mainstream parties starting to have reasonable logical debate.

Far right parties tend to be anti everything which doesn't float my vboat. I'm fairly liberal/progressive leaning in most aspects of life and I despise organised religion.

Unfortunately I think for any of the main parties to start openly changing their positions then the country will first need to be a complete toilet.

And we all know who's past master of that approach

Although rather than 'promises' it might be more accurate to describe these sorts of contributions as 'nebulous aspirations that mean feck all when you drill down'

If you'd bothered to go into the website, you would have discovered this:

"Escort in de-occupied cities (Romanivka, Bucha, Irpin, Hostomel, Borodyanka).

It is carried out for journalists, official delegations, diplomatic missions, opinion leaders."

Nice try, I'm aware of that and there's no need to split hairs about this, I received an Email about this from visitUkraine. The bottom line is that these are pretty crass promotional tours. If Ukraine was such a dangerous warzone this kind of thing wouldn't be happening and no foreigners would be allowed to go to those places.

It's like the chernobyl tours - a nice little money spinner for some.

It appears that Ireland's share of Ukrainian refugees is more or less proportional to its share of the EU population. The fact that France's proportionate share is a lot less proves nothing. Some countries (Poland and others near Ukraine) have higher than proportionalte shares. THat's what an average is: there are others which are greater or lesser than the average. The comment that Gary Murhpy's maths is not his strongpoint, is just daft.