The Government’s current policy of putting significant numbers of asylum seekers into hotels in small towns and villages across the country is “not well thought out,” according to Bertie Ahern, who added that current immigration rates are “making life more difficult” in the rental market and other sectors.
Speaking on The Stand podcast with Eamon Dunphy on Wednesday, the former Taoiseach was discussing the issue of housing in the context of what he called “a huge increase in population.”
“When I was a Minister first, it was three and a half million people in our population,” he said.
“Now we’re heading for five and a half million probably by the end of this decade. It’s a huge increase.”
He said that while housing numbers were increasing, which he described as “a help,” the country would need to build over 50,000 houses per year “just to hold where we are,” and that this was “a big challenge just in terms of building them, if there were no other difficulties.”
The former Fianna Fáil leader then went on to raise the issue of immigration.
“The other issue, if you were just talking to people, is the various issues around immigration,” he said.
“We’ve seen that in the last few years. I think people are very tolerant here – they want people to be given a chance.
“But they do worry that there seems to be a large number of people coming into this country.”
Interviewer Eamon Dunphy put it to Ahern that the Government’s policy of putting asylum seekers into hotels in small towns and villages across the country “have not been well thought out.”
“No, they haven’t,” agreed Ahern.
“…I do think this issue is going to be with us. We saw during the summer when they were along the canal and other parts of the city, and you see it all over the country.
“I think the Irish people are very tolerant, but they do worry [about] the number of people that have arrived on our shores.”
He added: “It’s a big challenge for the political system.”
Dunphy said that a common argument was that because Ireland “can’t look after our own,” it made little sense to take in new individuals, and said that some people think such views “give legitimacy” to the anti-mass migration protests that have been taking place in recent years.
“Yeah, and I think we’ve seen so many of them,” replied Ahern, referring to the protests.
“Back in the day our concerns in general elections was emigration – the amount of people from the labour market, young people…that had no option but to emigrate.
“And now the coin has turned over completely, where it’s people coming in here.”
Ahern said that while “many” people entering Ireland from abroad “have talents” and “want to work,” he said immigration is putting pressure on accommodation.
“It is making life more difficult for rental, for the local authorities, and I think it will be an issue at the doors in this election, as it’s been for the last few years,” he said.
Notably, in February 2023, Ahern rejoined his old party of Fianna Fáil more than 10 years after leaving the party, which some speculated may indicate a desire to re-involve himself with some kind of political life.