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

No legal routes? Can they not apply for asylum in the safe country France they left for the UK?

Aontu could be a coming force. Very little support for their views on issues like abortion, gay marriage etc, but the electorate may take the view that those issues are already settled.

This is what I never understand, skills we need. If we are short on Skills what the hell have we been teaching at third level for the past few decades?

This other argument about we need their Doctors and Nurses, again what are we doing wrong that our own Doctors and Nurses are leaving the country? Before Mass Immigration we seemed to do well with our health service and retaining our own skill set.

Quell surprise, tourists want to come to Ireland to experience Irish people and Irish culture. They don't come here to get 21st multiculturalism, which in reality is actually monoculturism, as every western country starts to look the same. One bland, one world utopia.

Potentially one of the most dangerous moments in the history of this state. Why is it brushed under the carpet though? Are we not allowed know? Does it not suit the narrative.

If they all had to be taken in by the first safe country they set foot in, it wouldn't make sense as that country would be taking in every asylum seeker.

So lads from Nigeria, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Brazil would all land in the same first safe country

I think there were mixed feelings when the Polish first began arriving here alright. Up until that point, immigration hadn’t drawn much attention - apart from cases such as Nigerians coming to give birth and secure citizenship, and the referendum that followed to close the anchor baby loophole, it was largely an issue confined to the cities so didn’t affect the whole country. But the Polish moving over here really did feel like it happened overnight and may have taken a while for people to get used to it.

However, it quickly became clear that the Polish were positive contributors. They worked hard, didn’t come with the hand out, stayed out of trouble, and, coming from a Catholic country, integrated relatively easily. Many continue to do so. We’re now seeing a number of them return home as Poland grows more prosperous. For many, the original plan was to work hard here, save money, and then return home to build or buy a house.

By contrast, the situation with international protection applicants from the usual countries has unfolded differently. At first there was sympathy, but over time many people have come to feel that a significant number are unlikely to become self-sufficient and we’re being taken for a ride in a lot of cases. Unlike the Polish, they generally do not plan to return home ever. Indeed many seek to bring over their extended family.

Polish are brilliant workers, very decent people, share similar values, they integrated extremely well.

But another uncomfortable truth; the amount of Eastern Europeans who came here post 2004 has been a major factor in the housing crisis.

I’ve hired loads of Poles, they were almost all excellent people. In fact the Eastern Europeans in general have been among the best workers I ever encountered. Lovely guys too.

But the problems are still real. The amount who came and to an extent who left again, have left us with a very distorted property market. Have no doubt about it either, their arrival depressed wages in certain industries too. It helped the likes of me a lot around 05 and 06 but it wasn’t good news for Irish lads in construction.

None of that is a criticism of the Polish, they were and are the soundest you could meet.

But EU requirements to allow unlimited movement is daft. It’s going to be very hard for Ireland to ever have a functional housing market, or to make long term plans given how easily migration from way bigger populations can impact here.

There should be a limit on numbers allowed, again that’s common sense that has been overtaken by ideology.

I don’t believe it’s solely a case of too much demand. I remember back around the time HAP was introduced in 2014, posters with far more knowledge than me on a property forum I used to frequent strongly criticised its introduction. They argued that HAP would create an artificial floor under rents and ultimately drive rental prices up. Turns out they were totally right. I’d also include the ARP for Ukrainians refugees in there. Any basic room for rental in any part of the country could command a minimum of €800 once that was introduced. Together, these policies may have been well-intentioned, but they've undeniably distorted the rental market.

It's a funny one. There is a guy near us doing all the right things but people say it's the Aontu allegiance that is holding him back.

You'd be surprised how "unconservative" Ireland is now. The gay and abortion referendum were clear out of the park wins against the ways of old.

You have to be very careful now, accusing a whole community that frequents that place of worship of anything even remotely questionable.