A Fianna Fáil MEP candidate has hit out at immigration comments by his own party colleague and running mate as “ill judged.”
Fianna Fáil Offaly TD Barry Cowen, who is running in the European Elections in the Midlands-North-West constituency, called for random spot checks on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic in an effort to apprehend illegal immigrants.
However, in a statement this afternoon, Fianna Fáil Senator Niall Blaney – who is running in the same constituency as Cowen as his running mate – said he was “angered” by the comments.
“The call by my colleague Barry Cowen for the border to be hardened to handle a serious escalation of the ongoing migration crisis is ill judged,” he said.
“Whilst Barry’s comments do express the genuine alarm and frustration experienced by people everywhere, it is a frustration felt not just in the south but across the entire island. This is not the way to go.”
He added: “We have fought long and hard to get rid of border controls on this island. I am angered that anyone in the Dáil would suggest that after the Good Friday Agreement that this is only a problem on one side of the border.”
The Senator went on to say that the migration issue was a “European problem” that had to be seen in a “wider context.”
“The Taoiseach needs to accept that this is a crisis and call an emergency meeting of the cabinet to ensure that immediate action takes place,” he said.
“This is a European problem, and one that we should seek to handle in that wider context. This is why a border voice in the European Parliament essential. I certainly will not abandon them.”
He also added that the constant focus on the tent encampments in Dublin was missing the bigger picture of the immigration issue’s impact across the country.
“The continuous talk about tents in Dublin is only a small part of our migrant issues,” he said.
“Everything does not revolve around Dublin. I’m angry that our health and education services are full to the brim in border counties, the west and the midlands, and nobody is playing a blind bit of notice.
“We’re giving a message to our diaspora that there is no room for them to come home and yet we continue to pay asylum seekers who are here illegally until they are processed.
“The Taoiseach needs to realise the extent of the crisis. If we want to understand what’s driving the anti-immigration sentiment, it’s the inability of the Department for Integration and the Department of Justice to deal with this crisis over the past two years. Our Taoiseach needs to act.”