The numbers of asylum seekers arriving in Ireland are “nowhere near” a problem, a European election candidate for Dublin has said.
During an election debate this week on RTÉ Prime Time, Sinéad Gibney of the Social Democrats was asked if, excluding people who are genuinely fleeing persecution, she thought there should be “any restriction on the numbers of people coming into the country”.
“I think it’s really problematic to frame it in terms of numbers…I don’t think that is the right way to frame it.,” Gibney replied.
“The numbers that we have here at the moment are nowhere near problematic, in terms of ratio to our population, for example.
“Historically, we have not had large numbers of people coming here.”
Asked if she was saying there was “no problem” in Ireland with asylum seeker numbers so far as she was concerned, Gibney replied “No, absolutely not!”
She said that “the system” and “the government” are at fault for Ireland’s immigration woes, and that MEPs should be seeking to get “a better deal” and “more humane conditions” for asylum seekers in Europe.
“Talking about numbers in that way is not helpful,” she said.
“…We have 30,000 people in the international protection system, and we have a population of 5.5 million. So we do not have an issue in terms of numbers.”
Gibney also slammed the government’s recently-adopted policy of having Gardaí conduct passport checks at airports to ensure migrants were not illegally entering the state with false or destroyed travel documents.
“All of these are cynical performative cruelty being put in place by this government to appear hard on immigration to their voter base in the run up to an election.”
Notably, Gibney is on record as having previously said that “wise or not,” Ireland must assess all new asylum claims regardless of numbers.
She also previously called for the “same level of measures” seen during the Covid lockdown to provide refugee accommodation.
SocDems MEP candidate Sinéad Gibney says that "wise or not," Ireland must assess all new asylum claims regardless of numbers.
She also previously called for the "same level of measures" seen during the Covid lockdown to provide refugee accommodation.
Question by @Ben_Scallan. pic.twitter.com/4iG5i6qFeV
— gript (@griptmedia) March 21, 2024
With just two days to go before the European and local elections on Friday, Justice Minister Helen McEntee has revealed that the government intends to increase the fines for airlines that fail to combat “irregular migration”, fining them up to €5,000 per passenger without valid travel documents.
Two days before an election, Justice Minister Helen McEntee has said she intends to increase the fines for airlines that fail to combat “irregular migration” – a.k.a. illegal immigration.https://t.co/wjtgidp5Pn
— gript (@griptmedia) June 5, 2024
“There is a legal obligation on our airlines to make sure that any person who gets onto a plane, any person that comes to this country, that they come with the appropriate documentation that they have a valid visa if that is what is required of them,” the Minister said.
“So, what I am doing is placing and replacing an emphasis on the obligation that exists within our airlines and within the overall airlines system.”
Immigration and “open borders” has been one of the defining issues of this election cycle for many voters and parties, with Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh claiming this week that election candidates saying they oppose “open borders” has been “the most dangerous” talking point of the campaign.
Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh has said that election candidates saying they oppose “open borders” has been “the most dangerous” rhetoric of the campaign.https://t.co/AUKEdli7cR
— gript (@griptmedia) June 4, 2024