Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

For generations, Irish people were the subject of foul racist stereotypes. Tory Governments in Britain specialised in scapegoating the Irish for problems that they themselves were responsible for. They implied that the Irish were a problem, and that there were too many of us. In fact, Irish people contributed significantly to building British society, particularly in the areas of housing and roads. We did the same in Ireland. Is the Government now leaning into the same tactics as the British Tories in scapegoating immigrants who are coming to this country? Obviously, we know that far-right groups have pushed this narrative. Is the Government now, in the face of an election, beginning to do it too, with talk of having to check immigration and the numbers of asylum applicants? Michael Taft has just written a brilliant paper showing essentially that our health service would collapse without immigrant workers. I was stunned by the figures he provided. People need to be aware of them. Some 51% of the people working in our health service are non-EU nationals. That numbers are 36% in information and communication, 24% in industry and 34% in other sectors. I could go on. I suggest that the Government needs to state clearly that immigrants are contributing positively to Irish society and if there is a problem with housing and accommodation, which there is, it is the political system and not immigrants that is to blame for that.

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