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

It’s not that simple. Aside from being a signee of the 1951 Refugee Convention, we also ratified the European Convention on Human Rights in 1953. Under Irish law courts must interpret legislation in a manner that is compatible with the ECHR. The kind of changes you are suggesting would not be compatible.

Think back to the UK Government’s first attempt to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda. It was stopped by a last minute appeal to the ECHR. The tories made lots of noises about leaving the ECHR, but they didn’t because it underpins to much of their own domestic legislation. Including the Good Friday Agreement.

That's most likely.

Do you think we'll get more or less of looking after the 'electorates that matter' ie the very wealthy, when we move further to the right?

I can see the idea of shutting down IP immigration is very attractive to some people here. But beyond that, what do you think this further to right government is going to do?

Historically they very much haven't looked after the interests of the people who might now be struggling to get houses, struggling with the cost of living, etc.

And in terms of the work-permit immigration, which is putting a far-greater strain on our housing and services. I can't see a further to the right government interfering with that. To do so would be seen as being not 'pro-business', which is usually a big no-go for those type of parties.

It is certainly well past time that the conventions around asylum and political migration were re-written. And it can only be done on a global level, UN, EU, AU, ASEAN etc.

I am a firm believer in the 19th Century adage; give a hungry man a fish to eat and he's fed for the day, but teach him to fish and do him a good turn forever.

What good will ever become of so-called Third World Countries, if all their young people, their brains and brawn and visionaries continue to leave in droves?

You only need look at our own Country up until 1990 to show the difference keeping the best and brightest at home makes.

There will soon be 10 Billion of us on this marble, competing for food, resources and space. Unless those vast expanses of Africa and Arabia and Asia can be properly harnessed for productive civilisation and sustainable dwelling, we are all a bit doomed.

And so these fellow humans must be kept at home, and educated and enabled.

You'll get a run down horse and cart the government will buy it for you and promise conversion to community public transport in the foreseeable future.

Seems people are struggling to grasp we can change our Laws and write new ones

Bad post

Tarring every dissenting voice as being "far right"

Regarding changing the laws there's more than one way to skin a cat.

To my mind, the only folk who either support or are neutral about the influx of IPAs and refugees are one, some or all of the following:

NGO employees

Small rural hotel/nursing homes/building owners who will be contracted lucratively by our taxes for providing accommodation.

Those who are financially secure.

Those living in areas that have had no placements of IPAs and/or refugees so far, and are unlikely to have any going forward.

Those who own their own property and their adult kids have their own accommodation also.

Those who have private health insurance.

Those who do not stay in "budget" accommodation for their holliers.

I have probably left out some cohort or other so if I have, someone might fill in the gaps. So who does that leave us with, you know those who are opposed? I think it is obvious.

However, a caveat.... some of the above cohorts are not happy with Government policy on this either (what policy?), and the hames the Coalition are making of it all.

I never said it was easy but it's clear that it's not just the Irish experience that's showing that these conventions are hopelessly unfit for purpose in the modern age.

It will take multiple countries withdrawing from the conventions either fully or partially for change to happen.

In the meantime, what we can do is make the system fair for genuine refugees and punitive for those that are abusing the convention. For a start, the state should be rapidly assessing cases and the costs of failed cases should be bourne by the applicant. This should be applied to the existing cases that are stringing out appeals - be told you have six months to withdraw and leave penalty free but if you stay and continue but are unsuccessful and even granted permanent leave to remain, you must pay the State back the costs of your accommodation and legal fees. Six years at €70+ allowances a night tots to a considerable sum even before the handsome legal fees.

The thought of a €50k bill for permanent leave to remain might focus few minds in determining if it's worth coming here.

No, we can’t just ignore international treaties that we have signed up to and implement laws that are incompatible with them.

that is never going to happen.

One of the government’s arguments in support of the upcoming referendum is that it needs to go because it dates from 1937 and society has changed so much since then

Yet not one member of the government said that these UN “obligations” also date from a different era and that the world has changed so much since then that they are no longer appropriate.

They could say this if they thought it was a problem but they don’t, they're delighted. It's a front for maintaining the price of property and rents, nothing to do with compassion. You can hear the glee in their voices when they try to justify their actions by our “obligations”. It’s the Galway tent in a different form.  

Yes we can change our Laws.

Nice to know we're not in communist China or the Soviet union comrade

The pro-unlimited migration crowd love stating that "the world has now changed" as some sort of pathetic excuse to allow this unsustainable flow of people to continue as is. Well, if "the world has now changed" and "more people are now on the move" etc then the common sense move is to CHANGE the laws within sovereign jurisdictional states, if the rest of the world has CHANGED. What you don't do is sit there adhering back to laws written in 1953 and only stick to that form of legislation like a helpless paralyzed bed patient . During any other crisis within any other country, power establishments have had zero hesitation changing their own laws to manage the crisis.

Who exactly says that citizens have that duty?