The Irish government was warned as far back as 2022 that an influx of tens of thousands of asylum seekers into Ireland could damage social cohesion and integration nationwide, particularly in deprived communities.
At the end of May 2022, just three months into the Ukraine war, around 30,000 Ukrainian refugees were present in Ireland, with the government around that time projecting that as many as 200,000 may ultimately arrive.
UN says as many as 10 million people have been displaced since Russian invasion began https://t.co/LIYcQcVE5r
— The Irish Times (@IrishTimes) March 22, 2022
Senior government figures were also insisting that Ireland would not put a cap on the number of asylum seekers let into the country.
Government will not cap the number of Ukrainian refugees coming to Ireland https://t.co/NXlB6eqeaQ
— breakingnews.ie (@breakingnewsie) March 28, 2022
However, according to a report in The Irish Independent on May 22nd 2022, a “cross-government risk analysis” that same week was given to Cabinet, which warned that a mass influx of asylum seekers would have “downstream effects on local population, and in particular deprived communities” that “creates risks for social cohesion and integration.”
Government was also reportedly warned that asylum seekers may be unable to secure accommodation, education, and other amenities.
— Hugh O'Connell (@oconnellhugh) May 18, 2023
Two years on, migrant tent shantytowns in the capital city have become a common sight, with the Grand Canal area seeing a homeless asylum seeker tent encampment grow to 76 tents as of yesterday, having already been cleared just last week.
“I didn’t say that wouldn’t happen again”: The number of migrant tents on the bank of Dublin’s Grand Canal has risen again to 76 – and Taoiseach Simon Harris says he never denied that the illegal shantytown could re-appear after it was cleared.https://t.co/MhKAPyAPFs
— gript (@griptmedia) May 16, 2024
Notably, polling has regularly revealed that immigration is most likely to be considered an issue by working class individuals – as found in the Irish Times/Ipsos B&A Snapshot Poll for February 2024:
Moreover, some of the most high-profile anti-mass immigration protests in Ireland in recent years have occurred in predominantly working class localities, such as the East Wall area of Dublin 1, Ballymun and Finglas.
The news comes as the latest Irish Times/Ipsos B&A opinion poll suggests that mere weeks away from the local and European elections, a growing majority of Irish people want the government to adopt a more “closed” approach to asylum seeker intake.
Irish Times poll reveals mounting voter unhappiness over Coalition immigration policy https://t.co/vcVh85plSQ
— The Irish Times (@IrishTimes) May 17, 2024
Only 15% of respondents said they favoured a more open policy, while 63% want a more closed policy, and 16% said the police was “just right”.
Moreover, 73% of Irish voters said the government should do more to deport failed asylum seekers, compared to 13% who said the government is doing enough.
In addition, 52% of supporters of Independents and 44% of supporters of Sinn Féin were more likely to support a political candidate that voiced concerns about immigration – the biggest margin of any other party or group.