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

If it's not an election issue as you say, why is Keir Starmer talking about lowering migration?

If anyone in Ireland proposed what Keir Starmer said, they would be branded as "far-right".

How about learning from that kickback in the UK as you call it ?

A lot of kickback against Brexit alright bht not the way you reference it ! Around 65% of Britons polled say they regret Brexit and that it has been bad for their economy .

Certainly you remind us that being very careful who you listen to and vote for is extremely important , and that jingoism ispopulism and longterm goals and plans should be thought through carefully before elections .

Thanks furze ;)

You're right re the latter - mostly the people who will write here are those who feel strongly about these changes and those who think all is fine with current policies. In between you've a large swathe of opinion that ranges from those benefiting from these policies to those with complete indifference to those quietly resenting what they see.

But there is no doubt at all that levels of concern are rising across Europe - we are not unique. What we are at the moment is the soft touch, somewhat deluded and used to being protected by our position on the western seaboard. That advantage has gone with the ease of international travel, so called called obligations and of course the ease of sharing information on social media across the world.

But the local election results pretty much tied in with recent opinion polling - big fall in support for SF and the far right parties who had been struggling in the polls also bombed in the actual elections.

The major surge for SF in GE 2020 was something of an outlier and wasn't really predicted by anyone, not even by SF themselves.

I heard there's 5 new countries going to be added, is it just those 3 or are expecting more?

I can never understand how the hell Nigeria isnt the top of the list to be named a safe country ffs

I thought Nigeria was already on the safe list.

Because they see Ireland as a soft touch. All these illegals are part of whatsapp groups and they're all communicating with each other with how soft Ireland is

Is it wrong to take pleasure with the cold weather this summer…………………. its no country for cold men 😙

Are you ignoring the changing climate across Europe? As seen currently in France. Why do you think these voters are turning from the centrist position towards Le Pen etc? Listen to them - dissatisfaction with housing, public services and immigration - all tied together and rolled into one.

The all right jacks will carry on as before here but there's a wave of public opinion gathering against the government.

Every country should be on the safe list by default. If the circumstances change, then by all means we should review it.

This is proof of how poisonous the media is in that they will still happily demonise what they call the "far right" despite them making up a third of the population of voters.

Just watching the news this evening when saying "Asylum seekers from safe countries will have their applications processed quicker" - can any politician or journalist answer me how on earth someone from a safe country could be considered an "asylum seeker"

It's like we're living in the Twilight zone

Are we comparable to France though? Their history is very different to ours - a post colonial power which ruled 72 countries at one point and which explains why they have such a large black and Muslim population.

Much of their issues around immigration are not even connected to refugees or asylum seekers, but people entering France from their former colonies : a big bugbear with the National Rally and Le Pen is the question of 'dual citizens' from the French colonies and the question being asked as to whether they are really French (presumably as they have come from outside Europe).

https://www.thejournal.ie/housing-demand-largely-dependant-on-migration-esri-report-says-6423919-Jul2024/

Oh wow look at this…no shìt migration levels effect demand for housing??

Unbelievable we’re at a point that this even needs to be stated or that certain ideologue idiots will try to claim the issues are in no way linked

”tHe GoVeRnEnT cAUsEd ThE hOuSiNg CrIsIs NoT rEfUgEeS” how many times have we heard that with no acknowledgement that nobody is talking about root causes, they’re talking about what’s making the problem worse for everyone

The proponents of the current system are by nature intellectually dishonest people - their ideology requires that they ignore blatant realities