Ireland Should Prepare to Receive Over 80,000 Migrants in 2023, Minister Says Based on the figures of the International Protection Office of Ireland, last year 13,651 applications for international protection were filed, of them 1,198 in December. According to the Irish Independent, a total of 83,814 people taking also into account over 70,000 citizens from Ukraine reached Ireland last year seeking protection, while Minister O'Brien has said that the country should prepare for similar figures this year. The Minister's comments came following the struggle that the country is facing in accommodating refugees and asylum seekers. Ireland Should Prepare to Receive Over 80,000 Migrants in 2023, Minister Says - SchengenVisaInfo.com related thread: Housing crisis and unaffordable rent costs in Ireland, caused by immigration? 'There is no room': anti-immigration protesters march in Dublin Organisers say rally shatters taboo about questioning Ireland's welcome for migrants and refugees Pickets and blockades of roads are often held outside refugee centres in working-class neighbourhoods but on Saturday activists marched in the heart of the capital. "Why should migrants skip Irish people on the housing list? I won't accept it," said Gavin Pepper, 37. An acute housing and homelessness crisis has collided with the state's struggle to accommodate Ukrainians and asylum seekers, fueling accusations that foreigners receive preferential treatment. Protesters also say centres with "unvetted" young male refugees make them feel unsafe. "I have five girls and two boys and the girls are afraid to go out at night," said one man, who declined to give his name. Holding Irish tricolours and banners, the rally marched from Stephens Green through the Grafton Street shopping district to the General Post Office on O'Connell Street, a landmark in the Easter 1916 rebellion. Malachy Steenson, an organiser, told the crowd such protests had shattered a taboo about questioning the welcome for migrants and refugees. "We have moved the political ground in this country. This was the great unspoken." For a movement that claims to represent 90% of Irish people, it was not an impressive show of support – organisers had hoped for a bigger turnout. But marching through the city centre galvanised participants who previously had protested only in Drimnagh, East Wall, Ballymun and other deprived areas that host refugee centres. Ireland is facing a dual crisis. Many Irish people cannot afford to rent or buy homes, leading to overcrowding, homelessness and anger. Simultaneously, the system to accommodate asylum seekers and refugees is near collapse. The state is housing about 73,000 migrants, comprising 54,000 Ukrainians and 19,000 international protection applicants. A year ago the total number was 7,500. Hotels, emergency shelters and other improvised accommodation centres are full. Last week the minister for integration, Roderic O’Gorman, said in effect there was no room for fresh influxes. The protesters on Saturday claimed vindication for their claim that Ireland is full. "I've a housing crisis -- there are six of us in a two-room maisonette," said Lisa O'Neill, 40. "Shame on the government. Look after your own first." The crowd was just as vehement in criticising Sinn Féin, an opposition party with working-class roots, for welcoming refugees. A poster called its leader, Mary Lou McDonald, a "traitor". Across the street, with police standing in the middle, a counter-protest with about 300 people held up placards saying "diversity not division" and "yes to solidarity". The rival groups exchanged taunts. Speakers at the anti-immigrant rally warned of "criminals and rapists" being dumped in working-class areas. Michael Leahy, chairman of the Irish Freedom party, a fringe group with ties to British Brexiters, drew cheers when he claimed Irish people were being “replaced” by low-skilled foreigners. ‘There is no room’: anti-immigration protesters march in Dublin, The Guardian, Rory Carroll Ireland, January 22, 2023 Immigration protest and counter rally in Dublin attract hundreds Hundreds of people turned out to protest outside the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin’s city centre on Saturday afternoon, with pro- and anti-immigration campaigners on opposite sides of the road. The anti-immigration rally, Dublin Says No, attracted about 300 people, while the counter rally made up of about 250 people, took place across the road. Protesters attached to the counter rally, organised by Le Chéile, which is aimed at promoting diversity in Irish society, carried signs saying "Don’t let the racists divide us" and "No to far-right lies and racism, yes to solidarity". On the opposite side of the road, those attending the anti-immigration rally, understood to be organised by the Irish Freedom Party, carried signs reading "enough is enough" and "Are our children and streets safe?" while others held up Tricolour flags. Immigration protest and counter rally in Dublin attract hundreds - The Irish Times, Sarah Burns, January 21, 2023
Blame Ireland's migrant surge, not 'right-wingers,' for Dublin riots Dublin -- In the 12 months leading up to April this year, 141,600 immigrants landed in Ireland. The Irish population has increased by more than 2%. If the US had similar immigration, it would mean 9 million extra people. This is the highest level since the prosperous "Celtic Tiger" era of the late '90s. Ireland's non-nationals comprise a whopping 20% of the population. The tinder box of immigration blew open Thursday with a mass riot in Dublin following the stabbing of a number of young children outside a school near the main street. The alleged perpetrator is foreign-born but still a citizen. The riots have, so far, led to more than 30 arrests and a number of stores destroyed. Once a source of massive emigration to the United States, the Emerald Isle is now the destination of choice for Ukrainian refugees and other nationalities seeking a better life -- and better welfare entitlements. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ireland had a surge of 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. Ukrainian refugees receive more than $200 a week from the Irish state -- the most generous supplement provided by any European country. Last year, more than 13,000 people from non-Ukrainian origin entered Ireland, a 400% spike over 2021. This has turned an already explosive housing shortage into a catastrophe. All these factors culminated in the horrific riots this week as hundreds of inner-city residents torched the streets in what the Prime Minister Leo Varadkar described as "huge destruction by a riotous mob." Buses, rail carriages and police cars were burned alongside an orgy of destruction and looting. Rioters even hijacked a bus for reckless joyriding. Police chiefs have been quick to blame "far right" elements. Yet public frustration with homelessness, joblessness, immigration, lack of law and order and anti-social behavior have been breeding a revolt by the urban underclass. Ireland has seen a surge in anti-immigration protests in recent years as the large influx of migrants has sparked clashes with already deprived communities and rural enclaves. That includes incidents of arson, such as the deliberate torching of centers used to house migrants. Ireland's authorities are now in panic about immigration, issuing last-minute promises about revoking generous welfare handouts for Ukrainians. Their bigger problem: An election looms next year amid a dire shortage of houses for the young. Irish youths are swinging to the Sinn Fein opposition political party, which was at one point the political wing of the terrorist Irish Republican Army. Mainstream or center-led parties are in a panic about a Sinn Fein voting surge, as in 2020. Commentary with vague but menacing tones about the "far right" masks the fact there is no political representation of serious conservative opinion in the Irish Parliament. The divisions in Ireland's conservative parties have prevented the emergence of a right-wing surge. The emergence of street level anti-immigrant "far right" protests poses a double challenge to the ruling parties and Sinn Fein, which have refused to mention immigration. Now, for the first time, immigration has been flung like a lit torch into the center of Irish politics. The issue is now cutting across traditional political lines. Blame Ireland's migrant surge, not 'right-wingers,' for Dublin riots , by Theo McDonald, New York Post, November 24, 2023
