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

And all immigrants in the health service are random mostly uneducated/unskilled blokes claiming refugee status I suppose then?

Nobody has an issue with people coming here to contribute and work. They do have issues with importing random useless people like the above though. Any sort of half honest look at how it went in Sweden would give cause for concern for following the same route

Well if there was not the number coming in there

would be no need .

That's a nice way to try and muddy the waters alright, but it's not accurate.

There's a world of difference between someone who arrives here legally, with needed skills, and the ability to contribute and support themselves, and an asylum seeker or low-skilled economic migrant who may be posing as one of the former to gain entry.

But let's take your comment at face value for a moment - why is that the case? Could it be that the current Government (and FG in particular who've been in power now for over a decade) have squandered the chance to rebuild and reform Ireland in the wake of the financial crash (as was their mandate incidentally in 2011), but instead have actively exacerbated the fundamental issues in health, housing, (lack of) rural development etc by selling off everything they could to investment funds or the connected, the fiasco that was Irish Water, and all the other scandals and waste that ultimately have created a situation where grown adults in their 30s and 40s on "good" money can't afford to buy a home, where others are stuck paying thousands per month on rent and praying the inevitable day when they're told to leave doesn't happen this month, and where Health has 20 billion plus thrown at it annually yet still can't run an adequate service in a small country of 5 million people!

Of course that last part is also the problem because we have encouraged tens/hundreds of thousands of people to come and chance their arm in the last decade as well (also stated FG policy incidentally with their plan to increase the population of county towns and cities) which has only added to the problems and the pressure on already limited resources. This is also part of the reason why people can't get a GP appointment in a reasonable time, can't find a school place for their children, are seeing social issues locally because no thought was given to what all these extra people would do all day etc etc...

This was obvious to everyone from the start who bothered to think for a minute (as evidenced in the start of this thread), and abundantly clear now in the latest polls which have said enough is enough but also that the long overdue reform of our border controls and immigration policies is very much on their radar for the upcoming elections (which is why the Government are making noises about it - not because they realise that we've hit the limits of capacity, but rather the limits of people's patience and tolerance and the impact this will have on their political survival and returns in said upcoming elections).

This is obvious too to anyone who has even a passing interest in Irish politics so no one should be surprised - or taken in! - by this "awakening" in Government circles. This is about the party alone, not the people - native or otherwise!

I suspect though that you're well aware of all of the above. Anyone posting in this thread is well aware of the issues and the causes (recent and more long standing as I've outlined above), but I suppose for some the loss of face to anonymous people on the Internet would be too much to bear at this stage - or they really do believe what they're saying, which is not only misguided (at best) but outright disturbing that all of these problems and issues can somehow be squared away to keep pushing "the message".

But as I've said before too, unfortunately ideology, wishful thinking and willful ignorance don't fare well when they eventually run headlong into that hard unforgiving wall called reality - which is exactly where we are today.

I have never argued that there isnt an economic difference between skilled migrant workers and asylum seekers.

We undoubtedly need the former and we will always support the latter, but I agree that our infrastructure has now grown in accordance with our population growth and ultimately, some kind of resource planning will be needed to manage asylum immigration.

Skilled migrants wont move here if they dont have a home to move into, but of course asylum seekers do not have that luxury.

We need to do much more to develop housing and infrastructure and we are moving in the right direction.

Over 30k homes built last year and probably closer to 35k this year.

We still need to do more however and slow down in commercial construction this year should help lift residential completions further in 2024 and beyond.

I am not sure immigration itself will play a large part in the election outcome though, as none of the major parties are seeking an asylum cap/number control mechanism....not yet, at least.

The Danes have never operated a zero refugee policy.

A third to half of the doctors trained each year are irish I believe.

But they generally go abroad.

This argument is beginning to get well worn and tired, educated and skilled people coming here on visas is on another planet to people in tents or being holed up in hotels.....the latter are not propping up any health service, give it a fking rest

Oh jaysus dont abide by the rules. Worst mistake ever. Take, take, take. 3 rules of modern Ireland policies. Boy band names

We'll soon have our very own trailer parks to go with the city centre campsites.. Carry on camping followed by Carry on up the Kyber, the hits just keep on coming from Clown productions

Immigration as a concept is a good thing to be fair, but (effectively) unlimited or uncontrolled immigration isn't as we've seen the consequences of over the last 2 years in particular, but even before that with the abuse of the system by economic migrants who otherwise wouldn't qualify for entry.

There's also the question of whether importing tens/hundreds of thousands of people as cheap labour is a good thing in the long run for a society. Sure it's good for the business employing them and their bottom line, but the effects it has on the domestic labour market, wage rates, worker rights and representation etc aren't great either over the long term. This then has knock-on effects to the wider economy and society as well.

The better question to ask is "why are we so dependent on foreign staff in certain sectors/industries" - ie: why won't our existing labour force do those jobs? Is it pure unwillingness (if a recipient is on Welfare and constantly refusing jobs that should be tackled appropriately), or is it that the wage/conditions are so low that people won't even apply (in which case questions should be asked whether that's actually a good thing - likely most would think not).

It's an interesting point though more complex than some are trying to make it out and cetainly not as simple as "no immigrants, no healthcare" anyway.

Have a gander at this mobile sold for half a million.The decking has a likely lifespan of 10 years . You would need to constantly move the furniture indoors . Perhaps the the government will compulsory purchase in 10 years for refugees.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.irishmirror.ie/lifestyle/homes-and-property/upmarket-beachfront-mobile-home-ireland-25930276.amp

Any party trying to sell an increase in the cost of living and an increase in taxes as a vote winner will really struggle.

The country was a back water by european standards and everyone was emigrating.

Of course we didnt need so many foreign staff, as there was no economy to run!

We are now one of the wealthiest countries in the world, with one of the highest living standards.

It is blantantly obvious that we need staff to provide those services and the irish workforce alone isnt large enough to deliver those services.