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

@_Kaiser_ I replied to your post because you were lecturng and calling others gullible over and over..

And going on about Covid here. You were on that thread too but somehow everybody else is wrong and your opinion is the only right one? How is that reasonable.?

I am happy to leave it, but its not a win for either of us if you can't debate without allowing that others whom you may not agree with might have a valid opinion too. And not just talking about me here.

Edit. I see that I was replying to a post for somebody else now so deleted Apologise for confusion there :)

But my reply still stands. Generally.

I responded to one particular poster who's modus operandi seems to be "far right something-something", "gullible cowards-whatever" and so on.... not really worth or possible to engage with hence my subsequent post where I've said I'll be leaving them to it.

I have and will always continue to suggest that people look into the issues themselves and make their own minds up, rather than just taking what they read on Twitter, or RTE or the press at face value. I make no apologies for that. It's something that most people are encouraged to do as part of growing up and it should continue throughout their lives really.

On Covid... the aftermath has shown that the responses in Ireland were disproportionate to the level of actual risk involved and the (societal and economic) tolls that were paid in the process. We're not going to agree on that which is fine, but I've posted at length about it on the relevant threads so I'll leave it there.

I am not here to "win". I'm here to read views on what is an important topic and add my own. Where I disagree with someone/something I'll say so and why but as I said, everyone is free to agree or disagree as they will. Feel free to add me to ignore lists if they prefer, or just skip past the post. It makes no difference to me. As valuable as threads like this are, they are just one part of what should be a national debate - not just on the airways and in print, but among friends, colleagues and families (and I note that those debates are indeed happening as reflected in the polling and general anecdotal feedback).

Hope this helps clarify.

Most of these issues may predate the current immigration crisis of the last 2 years, but surely you recognise that by adding 100,000 people in such a short timeframe with no advance preparations or even plan, it has exacerbated them to crises in themselves?

You also need to remember that we are and always have "done our part" - aside from the direct supports to the latest new arrivals and those who came before them for the last few decades, we also give away hundreds of millions of Euro each year (currently at 2 billion!) in foreign aid. That's on top of our domestic bill for these efforts.

So Ireland is already doing more than enough to help. How much more do you think/expect we can do? That's a serious/genuine question.

There were a lot of things wrong with Ireland in the past - however those mistakes shouldn't shackle us in how we deal with the problems of today. It's like the "well the Irish went everywhere!" argument that's often used. Aside from being a wildly inaccurate comparison, it has no bearing on how we tackle these issues now.

I don't agree with you on.. everything but don't think I would ignore you.

If I did I wouldn't be able to call you out on some of your over the top posts :)

I mostly see what you are saying and accept an opinion different in some respects but not all.

I too don't like being' fed ' in formation without knowing all the ins and outs as much as possible myself.

That is why I, of course disagree about Covid for the first couple of years until we had vaccines...

But that discussion is for another thread.

well if their application is rejected it will be like all the other applications that will be rejected, they will be allowed to stay. Very few rejected get sent back. I’m sure relevant NGO’s will help the applicant exhaust all avenues. Until we get this part of policy sorted we’ll get nowhere.

Interesting to see the continuous wedging of refugees into small towns that already have so many is still in operation.

It's becoming an uncomfortable pattern that genuinely far right talking points such as "once a few are accepted into an area the flow is ever increasing" or words to that effect, are increasingly being bourne out by government policies.

Soft disingenuous talk of how the burden is being shared equally among all areas of Irish society is starting to wear very very thin.

Certain towns are having their entire demographic makeups up ended.

Do you really think that was ever going to happen?

Think of what it could do to FFGs core voter property values if people just started living in affordable homes like that!

Where they came from... and where they came from, can send them where they came from....

Since he didn't condone the act, that makes it better? What he said was very clear. The people who set the fire aren't to blame, they are simply looking out for the safety of their family. They are not at fault and they are not to blame. There's a really strong "well, she was wearing a mini shirt so...." vibe off the councillors comments.

Well done on that front. Plenty of posters on boards couldn't do the same. And plenty of people in lexlip couldn't do it either.

If you consider anyone who is opposed to open door policy in regard of immigration as "far right", would you agree that based on your reactions and opinions you may be equally rightly considered as far left? Or perhaps extreme left, commie type?

Just asking as that seems to be quite logical assumption based on your reactions or answers.

You know a very large proportion of the homeless are foreign born?

Do you honestly, deep down, believe the government is against an open-door policy for immigration? Seriously? Have you any proof to solidify that statement or any hard evidence of action they have done to back up your statement? If you genuinely do, then here lies the crux of the problem in this country.

This government was pandering to liberal/lefties until the last few months when they saw the tide had turned with the vast majority of the country. Now they pander with lots of "we're looking into immigration" and the like statements, with ZERO action.

Has the welfare deduction for Ukranians even been enforced yet, weeks later? No wonder if you go to any of their Facebook groups, you have Ukrainians in Canada and the UK asking what the benefits are like in Ireland and how easy it is to "transfer" or get a house there. The epitome of welfare grifters who are only considering Ireland for welfare.

For the same reason, when and hopefully the welfare gets cut down for all the Ukrainians and asylum seekers, you will see a mass exodus. All these lunatics saying "Ukrainians will pay your pension later in life". Are you living in reality?

You have to admit our immigration laws are very relaxed. Why do we have a higher number of safe countries over some of our Euro counterparts...? Its not open border but very well damn close to it.