Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The motion seems to be rooted in a utopian vision where Ireland has an infinite capacity for accommodation and can continue to absorb the world's suffering by accepting an unlimited number of asylum seekers. It is totally nuts to think that we can keep bringing people here to Ireland. Reality paints a different picture. Ireland has reached the limit of its capacity. We no longer have enough accommodation for our own citizens, let alone asylum seekers. The blame lies not only with the Government but also with parties like Labour, Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats. These parties are all proponents of open borders. They must share some responsibility for the current situation. It is simply inhumane to continue to allow asylum seekers into a country when the only option is to hand them a tent, while at the same time, we have record numbers of homeless people living in Irish streets. In a manner similar to what happened in the recent referendum, 70% to 75% of Irish people agree with my stance. As we see again, most parties in the Dáil are completely out of touch with what the electorate is saying. Before people start calling me racist and far right and all that kind of stuff, living in a tent on a street in a foreign country is not a way to treat people fleeing other countries. However, we do not have the capabilities to look after more and more refugees. It is long past time to slow the flow.

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