Immigration and Ireland - MEGATHREAD *Mod Note Added 14/08/25*

Don't think that's quite true to be fair — well — depending on what your comparator is. Ireland can be accessed by very cheap and short haul flights from anywhere in the EU. The London-Dublin air corridor is one of the busiest in the world, a constant shuttle of people between us and a major centre of global travel.

Yes, we are more isolated compared to other EU countries (hence why large influxes of refugees and asylum seekers is not something that has been a sustained issue here) but we are also vastly significant less isolated than we were up to the era of cheap pan-European air travel. Ryanair have a flight from Sicily to Dublin on 5th July (peak season) for €89 one way — so from the south Europe that's all you need financially to at least make it to Irish soil from there.

Why are we still asking these questions when the answers are known?

You know all this already. You know that refugees are entering through places like Italy and Greece whose systems for processing and handling these entries have been overwhelmed and people filter out through to the rest of the EU.

You know that regulations are in place between EU countries that allow one member state to return refugees to another member state but that countries either sometimes do not avail of these or sometimes the previous country doesn't play ball. You know this is part of the reason why attempts are being made to reform that system.

You know that in many cases, certain people are gaming the system to move across the EU as refugees and you know that certain people are also simply trying to reach a place where they will feel most safe, secure, connect with relatives etc.

You know this. So when does the discussion move past the "gotchas" on here?

I'm not sure what you mean?

There are zero refugees arriving here from the EU and UK.

Over 110,000 refugees from UKR have come here. They all travelled through the EU, but they are not from the EU.

Tens of thousands of AS have arrived here, from the EU and the UK.

Up to 90% of AS arrive here through Northern Ireland.

https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2024/0430/1446420-cabinet-migration-legislation/

I'm not sure why they don't claim asylum in the UK.

Yet U could not point out how it was incorrect -?-

Do you have figures for your claim most immigration into Ireland is skilled? What is most, 51% 60% 70% 80% 90%?

I'd like to see a break down, of language visa, skilled visa, family repatriation, asylum seekers, temporary protection etc.

80% are rejected on their initial application, we sure aren't seeing 80% deportations.

We have a very high level of "disability" don't we? I have seen figures of 20% reported but this seems mental, if you pardon the phrase. That murderer of Aisling Murphy was on "disability". I would take that official unemployment number with a pinch of salt.

https://www.clare.fm/news/new-emergency-department-and-600-more-acute-beds-needed-in-midwest-by-2040/

The Mid West hasn't had functioning hospitals for many years, things are going to get far worse in large part because the country just opted out of trying to have a sensible immigration policy.

It was replaced by platitudes about doing the jobs the Irish don't want to do or soft talk like 'the Irish went everywhere'.

This is well on the way to being the greatest balls of a country in western Europe, where you can't rent a house or get a bed in a hospital.

Probably worth pointing out here that there is a strong correlation between socioeconomic deprivation and crime — and evidence to suggest a link between such deprivation and the prevalence of sexual offenses. I guess the question there is — do we necessarily use that information to decry the poor as little more than criminals-in-waiting and tar them all with the same brush?

I agree that statistical analysis of ethnicity would be useful. I mean, I typically tend to agree that any statistical analysis is a good thing, provided that people are capable of drawing dispassionate conclusions and to make critical assessment of the underlying contexts that may drive certain statistics — rather than using them exclusively as a means of confirmation bias.

The problem is that there are people out there who will use such statistics as the pretext to target and harm certain communities (like burning them out of their homes — something which we are teetering on in the North already). The reluctance to shout stats from the rooftops isn't always just some moral crusade to not look racist.