Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Before I say anything in this debate, I want to declare that, for many decades, I have been providing housing to Irish people, including students, workers and young families, and recently to some Ukrainian families who have come to Ireland under the emergency rules.

We are delighted to present this motion to the Dáil, recognising the vital importance of discussing a matter that is a constant topic of debate in every kitchen, workplace and coffee shop across the nation. The current challenges in the immigration and asylum systems, coupled with the growing concerns of the public, emphasise the urgent need for a thorough and sincere debate on Ireland’s immigration policies and their impact on our communities and resources. The pressure on Irish social services, including housing, is being increased by the influx of asylum seekers. It is for these genuine reasons that we in the Rural Independent Group have tabled this motion. I thank the staff in Deputy Mattie McGrath’s office for their background research and the work they put into helping us with this important motion. It is right and proper that we are bringing this debate to the floor of Dáil Éireann. However, we must state at the outset that we are in favour of immigration and immigrants who are either genuinely seeking asylum or who come here to work and positively contribute to our society. Leaving the Ukrainian situation out of it, consider the position of people who come here in the same way that the Irish went to England or that many of my own family had to leave here for America in the 1950s when there was no work or money. When they went to America, they did not look for anything from anybody. They did not get a house, medical card or anything else, but they did get the opportunity to roll up their sleeves, work, start out with nothing and build up for themselves. They rented places and eventually got mortgages to buy houses of their own and reared their families. They got no handouts from anybody for anything.

We hear people saying we have to do everything because we were welcomed abroad and got this and that. To be honest, we got nothing. What we got was the opportunity to leave here with nothing except what we could carry in our hands and go somewhere and say we were prepared to work and do whatever was wanted. It was not a case of filling out a form and getting everything handed to you. That did not happen. Therefore, the question we have, and the one I am asking very specifically on the part of the people of Kerry, who are continuously raising it with me, is this: how is it that young healthy people jump all across Europe – they come from everywhere – to land in Ireland rather than somewhere else? They have to pass many places to come to Ireland. Quite simply, what is on offer in Ireland is better than what is on offer anywhere else. It is issues like this that have created the concern among the hard-working people in Killarney, the businesspeople, the residents on the Muckross Road, and those in the seven or eight housing estates where we recently put in 77 people seeking international protection. All these people have asked me to ask today how it is right that 77 people would want to pass everywhere else in the world and land in Killarney. That does not make sense.

We want to acknowledge the positive contributions of migration to Ireland, recognising our country's diverse workforce, especially in crucial sectors like healthcare. However, it is essential for any government, including Ireland's, to retain the authority to regulate numbers.

Regarding our obligations in respect of immigration and asylum seekers, unless we opt out of such laws, we have to examine what we are actually being asked to do by the EU. I hear people saying that we are obliged to do something, but anyone looking at Ireland would have to say that Ireland has done more than its fair share. We have been very welcoming. I am sorry about what is happening in Ukraine, with people’s homes being blown up. Before one Ukrainian came to Kerry, I said in the Chamber and at Oireachtas committee meetings that we should bring people in, but that we should cap the number at 20,000. At the time, I was ridiculed. It was a case of how dare I say that we should have a cap. I thought that 20,000 was being generous and that, for a small island nation with a small number of taxpayers, it was a fair number. Now, we have many multiples of that.

However, it is not that issue that is concerning people. What concerns them are the healthy people who come to Ireland saying they are from places of trouble. How sure are we that these applications are genuine when we see people getting on a flight or other form of transport with documentation but, when they arrive in Ireland, they have no documentation? I was accused the other day on radio of scaremongery where the figure for that was concerned, but according to the figure from the Minister’s Department, 40% of people who land here seeking international protection somehow or other miraculously do not have documentation. I want an explanation. How is that the case? Why would 40% of people coming here lose their passports? Do 40% of the Irish people who go somewhere lose their passports? No, they do not. It is not normal or right. There has to be an explanation.

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