A Tipperary TD has said that it is “no surprise” that 72% of people, according to a new poll, support measures to make it more difficult for migrants to come to Ireland.
Mattie McGrath said that the poll showed that “the people are leading the way on this issue, as they have been for a long time”, and added that he and a small group of TDs had been “vilified and subjected to abuse both in the Dáil and the media” when they “stood with the public” on oppositon to “mass immigration”.
“This is not the first poll, nor will it be the last one, to show that the people want action to stop what has been happening in relation to immigration,” he said. “Anyone who wanted a debate was shouted down and attacked even though the polls show – and showed – that the public agreed with us.”
He said that what was now needed was action on immigration, which he said should also involve “turning off the tap on the massive funds given to NGOs who were going against the people on immigration and bleeding the taxpayer dry”.
The Business Post who commissioned the poll from Red C published at the weekend said that the response to the question on migration “showed is overwhelming public support for a crackdown on immigration”.
Some 72 per cent of voters support recent justice department moves to make immigration more difficult for people coming or trying to stay in Ireland.
Only 11 per cent said they were opposed to the proposals, while a combined 16 per cent said they felt neutral on the matter or were unsure.
The latest poll shows strong support among the bases of both government parties for a tougher stance on migration; 77 per cent of Fianna Fáil voters said they supported the measures, along with 75 per cent of Fine Gael’s voters.
The paper also noted that “the trend extends beyond the coalition parties, with 76 per cent of Sinn Féin supporters and 75 per cent of Independent voters stating they are in favour of the reforms.”
However, Mattie McGrath said that despite the “government’s tough talk” on immigration, they continued to support the imposition of IPAS centres on communities who were “never consulted and often attacked and falsely accused of being racist by the media”.
“Look at what’s happening in Dundrum [in Co Tipperary] where the government persisting in running a huge asylum centre in a small village and handing over millions in taxpayer funds, even though a court case confirmed that planning wasn’t adhered to. It is shocking that they allow this to continue while they hide behind soundbites,” he said.
“And today we learned that, contrary to the government’s claims, the number of deportations are less now than they were twenty years ago,” he said. “It’s all talk from the government when we ned action.”
The government this week said that it had given approval to the Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, to introduce new policies and legislative changes to strengthen Ireland’s migration and asylum system to ensure it is rules-based, efficient and aligned with many EU Member States.
The Red C poll saw 72% approving of such immigration measures – while just 11% opposed and 17% did not know. The Business Post said that it was understood that “the shift in the government’s stance on the issue was not random, but rather was in response to the parties’ own polling, which suggested a strong public desire for action”.
However, the same poll saw Fine Gael returning to “an historic low” of 17 per cent while Fianna Fáil are back up one point to 18 per cent. Sinn Féin is down one percentage point since last month to 22 per cent.
The other “significant increase”, the Business Post said, is for Aontú who are up two points to 6 per cent in the poll, “a historic high” for Peadar Tóibín’s party, while Independents are also up two points to 14 per cent.
The Social Democrats are down by one point to 8 per cent. Independent Ireland is down one point to 4 per cent, while Labour is unchanged on 4 per cent, as is the Green Party on 3 per cent and 11 per cent of voters were undecided.