Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Any nation that fails to plan, plans to fail and we cannot possibly plan for the needs of our citizens with no limits or no controls on inward immigration. We therefore need a serious examination here. The Taoiseach spuriously waited until the end of his three minutes to mention the 17,000 people who did not come from Ukraine and the many who have not come from war-affected countries.

Migration both outward and inward has been a part of our nation’s history for generations and there is no denying that. There are many benefits to immigration and migration and we accept the desire of young people to get expertise and travel. Many have left our shores and have benefited from that. Many thousands of doctors and nurses have come to our shores at all levels in medicine. I was in St. Vincent’s University Hospital for six days last week and I got exceptional care in that public hospital. It was delivered by many new people from India and from all over. I want to say that they are playing a valuable role. However, we should take off the blindfold. The Taoiseach is not blindfolded and he knows better than anyone about what is coming in. It is downright unacceptable and he will not deal with it. He is part of it and he is obsessed with the word “Ukraine”. He is obsessed with it. I accept that we have to take in people from Ukraine. I am asking about the 2,300 people who came into Dublin Airport and who had no documentation. Surely, we are not a free-for-fall, or freeloaders completely and that they are not sent back. We cannot go anywhere without our passports. It is as simple as that and that is the way that it should be. We have to have respect for our people and for our communities. The Taoiseach is denying that. It is causing strife and it will cause more strife and angst if we do not deal with it.

See this speech in context