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

Very depressing.

The government will now plow ahead full steam with immigration knowing under all the bluster people won’t vote them out.

I know its one year but building houses for a million people will take a lot longer than 10 years. So, if current climate change predictions by politicians are correct we will have hundreds of thousands homeless while we build accomodation.

I don't think local elections are a good barometer of public opinion on immigration TBH.

I gave 2 FF councillors my 1 and 2 in the locals and I've a lot of concerns around immigration policy.

The main reason I did is that the 2 of them are good local politicians, they get stuff done, organise tidy town stuff and have personally helped me out with a couple of things over the years.

I'm not a FF voter by any means but I think a lot of people vote like me in the locals.

Exactly. I also have concerns around migration but gave my number 1 to FG as he is a local councillor who does a lot of good work in our area. I'm sure this is the case for many others across the country. In saying all that, there still has been a significant surge in independent votes - surely a sign that people are voicing their concerns.

In any case, I would see the recent referendum as a better barometer of public sentiment, where there was a clear kickback against the government view. I think that result also precipitated a lot of talk, and ultimately, some change amongst government migration policies (e.g. welfare cuts). The general election will still be very interesting imo..

The only people upset are SF, and today's results confirm is that the govt will continue to flood IPA asylum seekers into working class areas as it is destroying SF

You can put your money on an RTE bailout and all media (local radio, newspapers, Irish Times) to benefit from another €200m annual pot of "Brought to you by the govt of ireland" rubbish

Okay, so your point about there one million homeless next year isn't an extreme example, its something that realistic could happen.

We are sticking to the point. If the asylum seeker numbers go from 30k this year to 1million next year I think our homeless issue will be the least of our concerns. Staying alive will likely be a bigger priority.

What is a realistic target when we could have a million homeless people next year? I guess a million has to be the target, although not very realistic.

As.for having a limit on the people who need a house, going by yesterday's election I don't think there's much support in the country for leaving the EU so that kinda kills that idea.

Or perhaps the electorate can decide for themselves who they do or do not wish to vote for. It's patronising to presume you know better then t h e electorate. People are not stupid, and most make their minds up based on their own values.

"from what we've seen in this thread, some people here would rather sit there and tell Karim from Algeria that if he's Muslim he's a savage"

To be honest, I can't say I've seen much of that on this thread. There was one guy who was banned who seemed to resent all foreigners, even those from other EU countries, but there seem to be far more people like myself who have a major concern about the potentially huge flow of single men and how it's going pan out if it's not dealt with appropriately.

My second concern, and again I think many reasonable people share it, is that Europe is now a multi-cultural place and Ireland is very much so, with around 25% of our population identifying as something other than Irish. Europe as a whole and Ireland as a sovereign state have to decide how we are going to manage our changing demographic and what controls we will put in place on all kinds of immigration and awarding of citizenship. Otherwise, it is entirely possible that fifty years from now Ireland will no longer be Ireland - and that makes me sad. Are we seeing the last days of what makes us uniquely Irish? And I don't just mean hurling.

"Brightness was drenching through the branches
When she wandered again,
Turning the silver out of dark grasses
Where the skylark had lain,
And her voice coming softly over the meadow
Was the mist becoming rain."

(Austin Clarke)

Who but an Irishman could write so beautifully about a cow, of all things ……..

And yet, now we see so many people speak derisively, with contempt for Irish culture, reducing it to 'trad music, meat and two veg, GAA'. I think, yes, sad is the word that sums up how I feel.

Well, yeah that is true too!

Irish people are very easy going. They support who they know. They are loyal. They are very friendly and love to chat. They are known the world over for this. It would take most Irish people a lifetime to change who they would vote for.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/06/09/record-immigration-britain-failed-raise-living-standards/

This is the path this country is on. We're mortgaging our financial future to take in large numbers of third world migrants, many of whom will be a significant burden on the state.