An Independent Senator has said that the Business Post poll which found that 75% of people thought that Ireland had taken too many refugees showed the people were not in agreement with the government’s narrative on immigration.
Senator Sharon Keogan also said that the asylum system was “completely broken”.
“It certainly goes against the government narrative in relation to how people are feeling on the ground,” Senator Keogan said. “The poll reflects a totally different attitude,” she said.
She said that the government’s policy meant that people were being pushed into communities against the will of local people.
My first and probably my last invitation to @TonightVMTV
Fairly fiery. #Immigration Government needs to listen to our people more. https://t.co/louHi7uaSD— Senator Sharon Keogan (@SenatorKeogan) May 29, 2023
“Nobody wants to see anybody in this county [living in] a tent,” she said.
The Business Post opinion poll found that 75% of people believe Ireland has taken in too many refugees – while some 76% of those polled say they “can appreciate some of the anger people feel about asylum seekers being moved into their local area”.
In its own analysis of the numbers, the Business Post pointed out that “Ministers have repeatedly blamed protests against asylum-seeker accommodation on fringe groups”.
“That is a warning to Government that there is a broad public acceptance that people can have legitimate concerns about the rapid establishment of some of the 145 new emergency accommodation centres since January last year,” the paper tweeted.
The latest BP/Red C poll shows that 75% of people feel 'Ireland has now taken in too many refugees'.
Govt has been at pains to dismiss the “Ireland is full” sentiment – but research signifies the same attitude hasn’t trickled down to the public. How did we get here? A 🧵
— Business Post (@businessposthq) May 28, 2023