Gerard Craughwell (Independent)

Before Ireland joined the EU, emigration was a defining part of the Irish identity. Over 10 million Irish people, more than the current population of Ireland, have left this island since 1800, driven by famine, poverty and lack of opportunity. Irish emigrants have flooded into Britain, America, Australia and beyond. They were not always welcome. Irish people were once thrown out of pubs, denied jobs and mocked with signs like, "No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs." That particularly applied in Britain. Irish emigrants were stereotyped as violent and lazy. In America they were treated as second-class citizens for decades. Yet today some in Ireland are quick to blame immigrants for housing shortages, job competition or cultural change. It is a bitter irony that a nation built on emigration now turns its back on migration. EU integration brought prosperity, but it also brought amnesia. We forget what it felt like to be outsiders, to be judged and to be blamed.Ireland must remember the wind that once blew against us now blows towards us and how we treat others in that wind defines who we are. Chickens do not soar by blaming the wind. Blame does not lift you; it keeps you grounded. Why do some in Ireland seem so quick to chase the wind blowing from Britain and America? Is it loyalty, habit or just the comfort of familiar gusts? Have they not learned by now that real sovereignty is not found in borrowing breezes but in learning to read the sky and fly your own course. The takeaway for today is that if you want to fly, stop blaming the wind and start building wings.

We hear today about an assault on a ten-year-old girl. Despite thousands of rape reports annually, there is no public breakdown by nationality of perpetrators. Why is this data missing? Who benefits from the silence? Transparency is not optional; it is the foundation of justice. Data drives policy and, without clear statistics on rape incidence by nationality, Ireland risks politicising speculation and public mistrust. Survivors deserve better. Citizens deserve facts. Let us push for reasonable transparency. A total of 6,683 women reported being raped in the past ten years. It is time to have a breakdown by nationality and stop always blaming those who are immigrants to our country.