When all else fails, put on the Green jersey and re-enact 1916.
It is, and for decades has been, the last refuge of the Irish Government in trouble. This week, on immigration, the auld enemy has once again been rustled out from the back of the political cupboard, donned in the butcher’s apron, and cast as the oppressor of all things good and decent and celtic.
Simon Harris’s face was dutifully stern, his voice resolutely firm, and his demeanour that of an IRA commandant facing down the black and tans: “Ireland will not be a loophole for other countries’ immigration issues”, he intoned.
Except, of course, it isn’t.
People are not coming to Ireland from the UK on foot of UK immigration policy. They are coming to Ireland on foot of Irish immigration policy. There is absolutely nothing in Irish or European law preventing the Irish Government from doing its own deal with Rwanda, or a similarly safe African nation, and taking away the incentive for people to come here.
Over a year ago, Denmark, a fellow EU country, beat Britain to the punch by doing such a deal with Rwanda. Our EU membership does not preclude such an arrangement, as the Danes – proud Europeans – have already proved.
(Incidentally, and as an aside, there’s a whole discussion to be had about how Denmark has somehow managed to be “at the heart of Europe” and benefitting from all the perks of EU membership while still retaining the right to say “no” to the worst excesses of EU policy, while in Ireland such a disposition is unthinkable)
In any case, If Ireland is a more attractive place for immigrants to come to than the United Kingdom or Denmark, then that is solely and entirely as a result of the Irish Government’s decision to make Ireland a more attractive option for immigrants than either of the two aforementioned countries. It is not the job of either His Britannic Majesty’s Government, or His Danish Majesty’s Government, to ensure that they’re issuing the same Cead Mile Fáilte as their Irish counterparts.
All of this is blindingly obvious. And that is why the fight with the British is being picked. It is, as the Irish Daily Mail reveals this morning, certainly not because of any great desire on behalf of the Irish Government to return migrants to Britain: Not a single one, the paper reports, has been sent back to the UK in the past three years.
Recognising that Ireland’s immigration crisis is largely the fault of the Government and its cheerleaders in the media is a very bitter pill for many to swallow. Going from advocating, in effect, open borders to advocating for very restrictive immigration policy might look, to an average voter, like an admission of failure. To fix the problem, failure must first be admitted. Politicians – and a great many journalists – simply cannot do that.
Instead, the electorate is to be presented with a carefully presented main course of ripe, perfectly presented bullshit, garnished with the shamrock: It’s not our failure at all, it’s the shameful British. We’ve no choice but to change policy, thanks to our awful neighbours. Perfidious Albion, once again the cause of all our problems.
Of course, this all suits the British perfectly as well: The Brexit voting boroughs of Northern England, for whom immigration was the single biggest reason for voting for Brexit, are no fans of the Irish Government’s (as they see it) antics during the Brexit negotiations. The comment of a Tory Minister to the Daily Telegraph over the weekend was loaded with more than a hint of relish: “The Irish wanted an open border”, he chortled. “Now they have one”.
Of course there’s another irony too: During the negotiations on Brexit, the Irish Government firmly and resolutely rejected the idea of bilateral negotiations: We negotiate, they insisted, as an EU bloc and take the EU position. Now, on immigration, the Irish appear to want a bilateral solution wherein the British do something to help us out.
Yet, the UK will point out, this is simply a case of the Irish ultimately dealing with the result of French policy. For years now, the French have been quietly waving migrants in the direction of the channel tunnel, and in post-Brexit Brussels, this became something of a standing, self-regarding joke: “They brexited, but they’re still swamped with migrants. How unfortunate”. Pour encourager les autres.
So the British might be prepared to negotiate on this – but on an EU-wide basis, rather than with little old Ireland. Sure, they might say, we’ll help with the EU border in Northern Ireland, but only if the French help with the EU border at Calais. Both the UK and Ireland will be waiting a while if we expect the French to change the habits of a lifetime.
Ultimately, though, pending the passage of the EU migration pact, how attractive a destination Ireland is for migrants is a matter for the Irish Government and the Irish people. It has absolutely nothing, of any kind, to do with the British.
At present, Ireland has voluntarily chosen to be a more attractive destination than our nearest neighbour. That is our choice, not theirs. Everything else is noise, bullshit, and spin.
100% correct.
It’s political opportunism to be “blaming the Brits” to deflect from the consequences of their own immigration policies.
This was an attempt also to buy time! Sunak did the Irish a big favour, unintentionally, by replying quickly to this charade! The whole attempt has made them look silly and naive! Which is what they are!
They are starting to be embarrassed on the world stage now, reports in British and American newspapers yesterday of the unfolding disaster in Ireland.
lol they are getting the piss taken out of them and rightly so, this loony left deserves to be shamed to the world
McEntee have shown herself up for what she is… weak, stupid and dangerously worthless!
It’s all too little, too late now. We are basically f@cked.
Well said , everything in this article is spot on.
Now let’s get on with the job, secure our borders , protect our people & our values & do our own Rwanda style deal like Denmark & the UK.
U told them to do in 2009 … how any eu law cld apply in this area .. u told them . But TD and Goct ???
I agree. Unfortunately anything our government will do from now on will be shutting the door after the horse has bolted.
Indeed, and locking them in.
Last Year , 13,277 Asylum Applications were made here. 35% of these or (4,712 applications) were made at Dublin Airport.and 85% of those people had destroyed their documents on arrival or had fake documents.
The government are claiming that asylum seekers are coming from the North but WONT GIVE ANY FIGURE ?
The Irish Mail reported that even when the government could send asylum seekers back to the UK, they didn’t send any back.
The Glass House is crumbling around them and they are scrambling to blame others for their own failings.
We thought the EU loved us. We were wrong.
2 X NICE. 2 X LISBON . The only thing the EU loves is itself . You see . Europhiles are people who see themselves as the guardians of the earth, its their job to tell people what is right and what is wrong, what way they should live and what way the shouldn’t , only they have the authority to do this and nobody elses viewpoint matters, in addition they will do anything necessary to drive home their vision for the world and even if it upsets people , the train will steam ahead because they believe they are always right and the world they are creating is the right world. Essentialy they see themselves as the Gods of humanity.
In my eyes, Ireland seems to have no honest survey to tell us how many Irish want an IREXIT! Irish puppet Times say 92% in 2018!! Now there is some puppets saying 88%. Realistically on the ground, my friends are mostly for leaving it … what is correct? are we being hi-jacked here once again? I bet it is nearer 40%-50%!
Peter I think the EU thought they could kick us around because we are such a small country, they thought wrong, the government are the only ones being submissive which means nothing when the population aren’t satisfied. do you ever notice we never reap the benefits other EU members receive like cheaper car insurance, tax, we are one of the most expensive places to live. The hours in our working week are longer, less long weekends. School expenses, treble taxation. College fees, ect.
Speak for Yourself.
I never thought so.
On what planet have you been living?
You know how the EU spell Love? M_o_n_e_y.
If Simon Harris et al really want to blame someone else at this late stage then the least they could do is maintain cognisance of the facts and blame the person who is responsible for starting the wave of mass migration into Europe , Angela Merkel.
She suddenly and unilaterally and without consultation opened Europes borders in 2015 , allowing one million people into Europe overnight and sending out a message to the entire world. A message that continues to be sent out by borderless world supporters to this day. Her actions were the biggest single cause of Brexit because the message it sent to the British was that if you remain in Europe your fate is in the hands of the German Chancellor.
But it is a little difficult for the Irish Government to lay the blame where it really lies because they were fully on board with Merkel’s mad seizure and abuse of power , supporting it to the degree whereby they were prepared to allow their own society to be torn asunder , with a bitterness and division that has not been seen since the civil war.
They even sent a navy ship to the Mediterranean to act as a ferry for the scammers. Now they cant even crew one navy ship. I am in utter despair at what these stupid people have done to my country. There is no way back from the damage they have done and are continuing to do. Our children and grandchildren will be living with the consequences of what these fools have done in a few years.
Agreed and many do not seem to get this. Its way too late now to tackle the immigration issues. Ireland is changed forever. Everything else is just talk.
It’s a very sad situation now, for us indigenous people.
Yes these new immigrants in Germany now want their own Califat as of yesterday. The EU now wants Ireland to cough up more money for their deranged policies. It is certainly time to opt-out or get out.
Nice article John.
Great article as always John, and sorry state things are in due to this governments continued lack of ability to manage anything
Why would they want to admit failure John ? As you rightly point out they have not even attempted to deport a single “asylum seeker” to Britain in three years – the system is working exactly as intended and Ireland is being turned into Luton.
And that is why milk toast candidates like Peadar Toibin are not the solution by any standard.
Read protocols 21 and 19 to the TFEU Treaty . Under Pro 19 ireland can remain out of shen8egen as far as eu concerned so long as common travel area exists .. does this mean then travel from north into south is free for migrants might that be eu interpertation. Under art 29 6 and 7 that is not a question for govt to decide on but DAIL AND SENATE . EU Law does not apply without prior approval of dail and senate . It is IRISH LAW implementing Irish policy in accord with constitution
I’m not au fait with the ins and outs of the rules on CTA, but if there was an amendment to say that it only applies to UK or Irish citizens then that would maybe tighten the rules.
McEntee lied again this Tues morning when she said they had sent NO ONE back to UK since 2020 because of the High Court ruling.
The High Court ruling was made in March 2024.
Excellent headline lads, well done.
Good Article, McGuirk.
BTW why does that bloody notice for a Survey come up when ever I am on this site, or move within this site?
I took the damn survey last week.
I wouldnt put Harris in the same sentence as Old IRA Commander facing down the blackntans nor the crowd around him…they would have peed their pants with fear and ran like dogs in to their little huts…….you can’t compare the handbag carrying male of today to the Real Men of old who are sadly dying out due to wokism…we thank these men who fought and stopped Hitler’s facisism in 2nd ww if they had today’s bunch backing them them we would all be speaking German with stickers on our jackets…King David(a mighty man of God,you won’t hear of him in your history books only the heathen kings) in the Bible had 100 mighty bodyguards who took out thousands of the enemy with ease ,one of his might men killed a 1000 on his own. Old seadogs had a saying we had wooden ships but iron men,now they have iron ships and wooden men. Sad to see really when God spoke to Job in the Old testament he told Job to gird up his loins like a man,in other words straighten up and meet me face to face like a man,what would he say about today’s man🤔put away your perfume,your handbag,your tight fitting clothes before you talk to me 😁😁😂
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Fair play to the brits at least they had a plan. I see the laugh that the british are having at our government as there permanently going away party when we replace every single one of these knobs
Well said John that’s spot on
The open border has become an open wound for the government. The schadenfreude is delicious.
It is not surprising that many mudsling J McGuirk and similar commentators as “West Brit” etc. Sadly we have too many in Ireland who have myopic, parochial and narcissistic views particularly with regard to Britain. For too long too many gaze or glare across at the other Island. I will paraphrase a quotation I read this morning. “If I had one bullet, who would I use it on? A traitor or an enemy??” I may glance at that “green and pleasant land” but I will watch and watch over my own country.
Maybe there incompetence is doing us a favour , maybe the Irish people will realise that our politicians are fool’s and that it is time to take our situation more seriously and we need competent people in place that will bring Ireland back from it’s brink.
!00% right. I would like to make the following points:
ireland needs to be united ,borders sorted ,end of brits , civil war ended throught brut force of dynamite of civilians , one in co kerry most remembered by fg and breakaway ff members for sinn fein that accepted the 26counties that finished the civil war, this is a smoke screen from last week in wicklow and the revealing of 800 tax free rent allowance for ukrainins over irish which is blatant discrimination of irish in their own land , big tax break for ff/fg/g buddies landlords after canceling the no evictions ban after big flu, micheal martin throwing helen mcentee under the bus in belfast yesterday for his crown first cousin”s( his half english) surely thats General election wakeup call for fg.if you do the maths sinn fein carol nolan and mattie mcgrath type independences can fix irelands borders housing and infastruction badly needs and new court to deal with fg/ff ganterism that went on for last 50 years judges and all
Please take time to use punctuation etc. I tend to skip over, what can be interesting comments, when they are difficult to decipher. After all we are not a gang of lefties on tictok or Trinity undergraduates!!
Think it’s another fake account, there were more like it yesterday – with artificially bad spelling and grammar.
This clown, bacon and cabbage, is meant to a piss-take with a name like that. He’s all over the place today urging people to vote for Sinn Féin, anyway.
Mile Buiochas.
Sinn Fein are the last people to do it! Remind me for which secret service McGuinness was said by some to be working for again? Or wasn’t that true?
destination Ireland is for migrants is a matter for the Irish Government and the Irish people.
The People did speak in the second referendum for the lisbon treaty in 2009.
That The state MAY exercise option and discretions under protocol 19 of the TFEU BUT subject to the PRIOR APPROVAL of Both house of the Oireachtas AND the state may agree to decision regulations ad act fo EU under Freedom justice and security of TFEU but subject to the prior approval of both house of the Oireachtas.
The International Protection Act make no reference to TFEU and the protocols but if it stated it was passed without prior approval of dail and senate in accord with art 29 6 and 7 it is Irish law. Ireland making it own policy. Ditto for pact bill. It DAIL reserving its powers under constitution to opt in on a case by case basis but in meantime govt cant opt in without dail and senate approval
the govt got bill into committee stage on 12 4 24 with dail approval but dail approval for a IRISH BILL .. that made no ref to art 29 6 or art 29 7 so no prior approvalof dail to govt exercising any of these option or discretions . opt in to any pact .
You’re right 👍🥵
That’s a brillant article. Hits the nail right on the head.
The blame lies solely with our own idiot government. They’re not fooling anybody anymore.
Plus we’ll have to change to céad milliún fáilte from here on in.
Jaysus what a load of tripe. Denmark has yet to deport anyone to Rwanda, despite having an agreement in place. The UK has yet to deport anyone to Rwanda, despite the desperate Sunak’s last ditch efforts to ruin more people’s lives. The Rwanda plan has already cost the UK govt £290m and they’ve not deported a single migrant, and it’s now estimated that deporting each individual may cost millions. What’s more, of the 5,000-odd people notified that they are scheduled for deportation by the UK Govt, only 2,000-odd continue to report in to the Home Office. The other 3,000 have gone AWOL. Funny that? McGuirk and his fascist mates would be frothing at the mouth if the Irish Govt came up with a plan to spend €millions of taxpayer revenues on deporting migrants to a place which both the UN and the UK’s own Supreme Court has said is not a “safe country” by any stretch (it’s at war with it’s neighbour, many of whose displaced refugees are now arriving in the EU).
“Blame it on the Brits” is pretty old hat, yeah. “Blame it on the migrants” is an even older song.
You’re right about the UK. A stupid plan costing into the billions if it ever took off. Which it won’t. We cannot afford it. It’s not the destination that’s the problem its the cost and effectiveness. Far simpler just to stop the boats mid-channel. A few capsized boats would have a major impact on the plans of those migrants waiting in France to cross and those still in Africa, Middle East etc planning their journey. In the long term, thousands of lives would be saved. You cannot make a cake without breaking an egg or two.