Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)

I think everyone recognises that we need people coming into this country through the visa system. We need doctors, nurses, people in hospitality and all different types of workers. They are welcome in this country. However, from what we have read last night, we need to have a conversation about illegal immigration. Most politicians are afraid at the moment, as are ordinary people. When you go around the country and talk to people, be it an elderly person or a couple here and there, one to one, they outline the problems they see but they all ask what they can say because they will be called a racist if they open their mouths. Last night, or this morning, what we read in the newspaper is horrendous. I will not go into that in detail. The one question I ask is this. If somebody, regardless of who that person is, is six years in the country, a deportation order was issued six months ago and the State is still paying for their accommodation, there is something seriously wrong. Unfortunately, over the last year or 18 months, we have seen a huge upsurge in knife crime in this country and a huge upsurge in weapons being wielded that we have never seen in this country. We have seen some cultures treating women as second-class citizens, which is not acceptable.

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