In a Dáil “debate” which seemed like a competition to see who could use the term “far right” or one of its synonyms the most, the paper hat went to Paul Murphy who managed to fit in the phrase ten times in the space of about three minutes.
He had begun slowly enough, but fans were not to be disappointed as he finished strongly, with a well-executed volley towards the finish.
This may have been to the disappointment of his closest rival Minister Simon Harris who must have felt confident that he would carry the day having set down a marker with his own seven references to the “far right.”
This was a central theme of his homily in which he accused anyone who pointed to the lengthy time it takes to process asylum applications, the numbers arriving without documentation or false documentation, and the low number of deportations, as part of – go on guess for pig iron – “the far right.” Ca-ching.
That would obviously include ourselves, given that we have consistently published the facts concerning all of this, but it might also mean his fellow Fine Gael faction member of #Irelandisforeveryoneincludingdogsandpaddies, Richard Bruton, who had the temerity to point out that in 2022 the state only managed to process one third of the 15,000 applications for international protection.
Could Bruton be accused of aligning himself with “menacing forces” when he stated that, apropos false documentation and deportation, “We need a system that is seen to work because we do not have an indefinite capacity to absorb groups?”
Some of the usual suspects may believe that sort of things is, like bordering on, like “fash” but unfortunately during some 90 minutes of lots of people saying mostly the same thing and using the same cliches and slogans and sharing the same inane anecdotes, sense and facts were scarce.
It is ironic indeed that for people who spend so much time talking about “misinformation” and the need to “share the facts,” that they are almost totally reliant on gibberish.
Take Roderic O’Gorman, for example, and his defence of those who come here “seeking international protection, some of whom have been tortured and exploited.” Who are these people?
The figures show that most of these men come from safe countries. Is O’Gorman accusing Georgia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Islington Borough Council and the other countries from where the majority of these “asylum seekers” come from of widespread torture? Does he, or any of the other 140 TDs who sing from the same song sheet, have information on this that appears to have escaped the notice of Amnesty International and others?
It also struck me, that in the midst of all this Mother Kelly’s Doorstep boasting about not giving a fart in a bandbox about who they dump into communities around the country, that not one of them referred to the reasons behind, and the “menacing forces” who are organising, much of the illegal immigration into Ireland and other European countries.
This was referred to last week in a truly sad interview with Sr. Éilis Coe of Ruhama who spoke about the criminal gangs who were importing women and girls and young men to Ireland to be raped and forced into prostitution and other forms of criminality.
She laid bare the facts behind why people arrive with false or no documentation.
A sordid business that, let us be honest about it, is not only facilitated by an incompetent processing system, but has effectively been encouraged by O’Gorman’s tweet inviting the world and its dog to claim asylum in Ireland, as Carol Nolan TD has pointed out.
A tweet that has been reported as causing consternation among those tasked with dealing with the consequences of this.
Only this week, The Sunday Times relayed the story of how officials in the International Protection Office were aghast at his ridiculous decision to send out a tweet in eight different languages, effectively making Ireland the destination of choice for international protection applicants both real and fake.
Has the Minister experience in the tourism industry or with travel agencies? Is he becoming a travel agent for Ireland? Senior coalition figures are saying that the level of arrogance and hubris is astonishing and that the Minister has “let the anti-immigration genie out of the bottle
Deputy Nolan has said that communities have are bearing the brunt of O’Gorman’s “patronising and arrogant stance” and attempts to criminalise legitimate objections, it is clear that some wish to extend what they themselves might describe as a “McCarthyite” miasma of suspicion and who knows even to other elected representatives.
Cue Labour TD Duncan Smith who declared that “there is a small minority of public representatives in this House who I would not trust with certain information in relation to where new arrivals will be accommodated.”
Who exactly is he talking about? And what is he implying?
Apart altogether from the fact that he or any other TD is entitled on behalf of the people who elect them to information about things that will have massive and long term impacts on the local community, is he implying that some TDs might use that information to facilitate illegal actions?
Or is he just lumping in anyone questioning the Migrancy Party’s policy to sneak people into communities without any consultation as falling into the category of ‘untrustworthy’ or perhaps even treasonous elements?
Well, he warned, because if these “far right/bad actors/misinformers” blah the blah, have managed to infiltrate our communities and even the Oireachtas itself, well let them be on guard.
For Duncan has a history of opposing fascism it seems. And “been successful in the past.”
Of course he has. This is what happens when you confuse reality with your Billy Bragg CD.
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