Ireland's Refugee Policy cont. Please read OP before posting

No, but i do think someone is fundamentally thick if they think the person who had the unemployment rate peak at a staggering 14.8% during their term in office is going to be their economic saviour.

My feeling is that FG/FF will stay on the current plan of sitting on the fence on immigration for the election so not to lose votes to SF but in the new year will move back towards centre as Europe dictate a change in immigration policies.

Guess that one went over your mental altitude.

Maybe they had a look at who was running against him, held their noses and said No thanks, just like they rejected that vile woman the first time he was elected,in any case they're entitled to do this without being ridiculed and called thick, voters choose where to put the X on the ballot for many and varied reasons

We look down our noses at the people of the US. We are no better ourselves. Continually voting in both FF and FG and them not giving a damn about the people of this country. Micheal Martin was a key member of the early 2000's FF that bankrupted the country and FG are pissing away any prosperity we have on nonsense and unmitigated disaster after disaster. And yet they will be in power and bed together next year. A question of intellect needed closer to home than the US.

Inflation at 2% coming off the back of sky high figures continues to hurt the everyday worker hard. To put it in context:

Loaf of bread in early 2020 - €1.49

Loaf of bread in early 2024 - €2.45

Loaf of bread in late 2024 - €2.49

Meanwhile, wages for many have not kept pace with such rapid price rises. That's hurting families and workers very hard.

More to inflation than bread -

Moving swiftly on from US politics.

I guess perhaps it's a sign of THE times that the recent Pastoral Letter from the ICBC has received very little reaction.
Although maybe it's just too early to tell.

I've no idea what you are seeing as I don't suffer from that - It's a very important poll to see and understand the stats/demographics within. I did a quick snip/edit of the first few lines if that helps - The sections in the middle with a white rectangle around it are the % of people that want a more closed policy re immigration

Not to mention the fact that the "Sophisticated Irish electorate" managed to send a dancing jockey to the EU to represent us there (on a cool €1.2m pay over the 5 years I should add) - They were possibly too excited thinking about a day at the ploughing to give it much thought

That's a level of sophistication I hope I never achieve

I read it and my issue with it is the net migration figures, which are often quoted. We are loosing 69k people every year without stating if that's Irish leaving or the new comers. A mix I suppose but even in my own industry, young Irish are leaving in their droves. That's taxpayers leaving and we are importing huge swathes of those just to go on benefits. 

It gives no mix for the 149k incoming of visa people (instant taxpayers) Vs those who will go straight to benefits. Safe to say, those in the tents looking for a free gaff are not from the visa system.

Sure all you’d to do was look at the footnote? It links to the CSO data where it gives the breakdown you’re looking for:

Immigration

The number of immigrants in the 12 months to April 2024 was the highest since the year to April 2007 and consisted of 30,000 returning Irish citizens, 27,000 other EU citizens, 5,400 UK citizens, and 86,800 other citizens including Ukrainians.

Emigration

The number of emigrants in the 12 months to April 2024 was the highest since the year to April 2015 and consisted of 34,700 Irish citizens, 10,600 other EU citizens, 3,000 UK citizens, and 21,500 other citizens including Ukrainians.

https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-pme/populationandmigrationestimatesapril2024/keyfindings/

It's a document that makes sense in an ideal world where a functional visa system operates to take in needed taxpayers and a space is left for actual refugees. Not economic migrants who have zero wish to integrate into Irish society.

It’s a document that makes more sense than your post where you refer to young Irish people leaving in their droves as taxpayers (wouldn’t they be economic migrants? They’re certainly not paying tax if they’re not domiciled here), and Ireland isn’t importing anyone (there’s laws against that sort of behaviour).

The visa system functions just fine (the problems arise when people over-stay their visa - then they’re here illegally), the asylum application system does not, but there’s no immigrants or asylum applicants are going straight on benefits, because they don’t qualify for them at all. Only if they are granted refugee status are they are entitled to support from the State, and that’s always been the case.

The term ‘economic migrant’ refers to people who are not seeking asylum - a completely separate category, which includes people who come to work here and do not require a visa, and people who come to work here who do require a visa. It doesn’t include people seeking asylum who are granted refugee status and may later be granted permission to work (after 5 months they can apply for a work permit -

https://www.irishrefugeecouncil.ie/work-permit-and-employment )

Immigrants aren’t required to integrate into Irish society in any case, though it benefits Irish society if they do, such as enrolling themselves and their children in education (with 90% of national schools controlled by the Catholic Bishops of Ireland, you think people don’t notice that too? 😂) and so on, to say nothing of the Irish people who themselves have no wish to integrate into Irish society, and nothing whatsoever about young Irish people who become economic migrants who end up overstaying their visas in other countries and becoming illegal immigrants, nor would anyone suggest Ireland is exporting anyone, because that’d be silly, just as silly as the suggestion that Ireland is importing anyone.

As maik3n suggests - it’s probably too early to tell, but it’s likely to get a mention at Mass in the morning where there are plenty of immigrants among the congregation, and have been among the congregation at Mass every Sunday morning for years:

Over this weekend at Masses celebrated in parishes across the island of Ireland, bishops will publish a new pastoral letter on welcoming immigrants, entitled: A Hundred Thousand Welcomes?

A Hundred Thousand Welcomes? invites parishioners to reflect on how we welcome immigrants in contemporary Ireland, and the theme is informed by the parable of the Good Samaritan.

The pastoral letter’s call to action encourages people to welcome immigrants and strive to help all newcomers belong to the life of the community; to reject voices that sow division; and, calls on State authorities to provide more resources to address local social and economic shortages that have been neglected for too long.

https://www.catholicbishops.ie/2024/10/12/irish-bishops-pastoral-letter-on-welcoming-immigrants-a-hundred-thousand-welcomes/

If Poland, a fellow E.U member state can do this, why can’t we?

The end of the article is pretty apt

"“I never saw Donald Tusk as a human rights champion, but this is a new low,” Malgorzata Szuleka, a board member of the Warsaw-based Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights told the BBC.

“There is a humanitarian crisis on the border, but it is also an open migration route. We need to find a place for a rational discussion that is not so populistically driven,” she added."

Depends on your definition of “can’t”

They can in all reality, international law is routinely ignored.

Poland gets it