Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail supporter? Anthony
Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony
Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony
RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony
Waiting for SIPO Anthony Public Inquiry >>
Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
Julian Assange is finally free ! Tue Jun 25, 2024 21:11 | indy
Stand With Palestine: Workplace Day of Action on Naksa Day Thu May 30, 2024 21:55 | indy
It is Chemtrails Month and Time to Visit this Topic Thu May 30, 2024 00:01 | indy
Hamburg 14.05. "Rote" Flora Reoccupied By Internationalists Wed May 15, 2024 15:49 | Internationalist left
Eddie Hobbs Breaks the Silence Exposing the Hidden Agenda Behind the WHO Treaty Sat May 11, 2024 22:41 | indy Human Rights in Ireland >>
Reeves Scraps Winter Fuel Payments for 10 Million Pensioners to Fund Public Sector Wage Rise Tue Jul 30, 2024 17:00 | Will Jones Rachel Reeves is to scrap winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners and ditch a cap on social care costs to fund a public sector wage rise, it has been announced.
The post Reeves Scraps Winter Fuel Payments for 10 Million Pensioners to Fund Public Sector Wage Rise appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
A Summary of Why the Czech Republic Vaccine Data are So Devastating to the ?Safe and Effective? Narr... Tue Jul 30, 2024 15:00 | Will Jones The Czech Republic record-level vaccine data are devastating to the "safe and effective" narrative, says Steve Kirsch, as he provides a new overview that explains why.
The post A Summary of Why the Czech Republic Vaccine Data are So Devastating to the “Safe and Effective” Narrative appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Keir Starmer?s Anti-Israel Policies Are Now No Different to Jeremy Corbyn?s Tue Jul 30, 2024 13:00 | Will Jones Unlike Jeremy Corbyn, Keir Starmer has never described Hezbollah as his friends. But other than that, when it comes to Israel there is now little of consequence to differentiate them, says Stephen Pollard.
The post Keir Starmer’s Anti-Israel Policies Are Now No Different to Jeremy Corbyn’s appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Is the Muslim Vote Abandoning Labour? Tue Jul 30, 2024 11:00 | Frank Haviland Is the 'Muslim vote' set to abandon Labour? With three quarters of British Muslims refusing to believe Hamas committed atrocities on October 7th, it's hard to see how Labour can retain them, says Frank Haviland.
The post Is the Muslim Vote Abandoning Labour? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Bridget Phillipson is Wrong About the Higher Education Freedom of Speech Act Tue Jul 30, 2024 09:00 | Dr Julius Grower Bridget Phillipson is wrong about the Higher Education Freedom of Speech Act she has just torpedoed, says Oxford law academic Dr Julius Grower. It won't increase legal action for universities but will ease it.
The post Bridget Phillipson is Wrong About the Higher Education Freedom of Speech Act appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Netanyahu soon to appear before the US Congress? It will be decisive for the suc... Thu Jul 04, 2024 04:44 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N°93 Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:49 | en
Will Israel succeed in attacking Lebanon and pushing the United States to nuke I... Fri Jun 28, 2024 14:40 | en
Will Netanyahu launch tactical nuclear bombs (sic) against Hezbollah, with US su... Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:09 | en
Will Israel provoke a cataclysm?, by Thierry Meyssan Tue Jun 25, 2024 06:59 | en Voltaire Network >>
|
Irish Immigrant Nation and Racism
national |
rights, freedoms and repression |
opinion/analysis
Thursday October 14, 2004 23:40 by Michael Hennigan - Finfacts.com
![Report this post to the editors Report this post to the editors](../graphics/report.gif)
There is a significant minority who oppose non-white immigrants. The asylum system shambles is used by some to paint immigrants on work permits as spongers. Based on both polls and extensive anecdotal evidence, it is useful when discussing attitudes to immigration, to accept that there is a significant minority of Irish people who are opposed to immigration by non-whites. The percentage may well be in the range of 30%-40% of the population. This group of people comes from all sectors of society and vary from hard racists to individuals who pine for the simpler days of a one- colour Ireland.
I met a countrywoman near Dublin’s St. Vincent’s Hospital recently anxiously enquiring about buses into the city centre. Her neighbour had told her that the bus drivers are of no help because most of them are foreigners. The neighbour was mistaken and I would put her reaction on the benign spectrum of attitude to non-white foreigners.
What is striking is the passive reaction of Irish people to the revelations of extensive corruption while the claims of immigrants milking the system evokes such a response of indignation. The RTE exit poll during the citizenship referendum where 36% said they had voted because 'the country is being exploited by immigrants,' is worth highlighting again.
Economists say that Ireland needs immigrants to maintain economic growth. Nevertheless, when arguments are made about benefits paid to immigrants, there is seldom a differentiation made between legal immigrants on work permits and asylum seekers.
Change from Emigration to Immigration
In the 1980’s the then US Congressman Bruce Morrison led a successful effort in the US Congress to have special visas issued to Irish nationals many of whom were working illegally in the US. Some 48,000 were granted these visas. This was a great help to Ireland during a period of high unemployment. It wasn’t that the American economy needed our people compared with Indians, Malaysians etc. Morrison has said that many of the former ‘illegal aliens’ have become US citizens.
We became an immigrant country in the 1990’s and the following shows the increase in asylum applications as the Celtic Tiger took off:
Year Total
1991 31
1992 39
1993 91
1994 362
1995 424
1996 1,179
1997 3,883
1998 4,626
1999 7,724
2000 10,938
2001 10,325
2002 11,634
2003 7,900
2004 2,118 – to June
Recognised as refugees in 2003 1,170; 345 at first instance; 825 at appeal stage
Recognised as refugees 1994 - 2003 5,600
Unsuccessful applications 2003 2,410
Deportation orders effected in 2003 590
(less than 25% of those who received a deportation order)
Backlog of unprocessed applications at 31/12/03: 7,390 ; 4,554 first instance ; 2,836 appeal
Dispersal and Direct Provision
At 31/12/03, 5,500 asylum seekers were resident in 63 centres in 24 counties in the Republic.
In 2003, the statistics for Work Permits were as follows
47,551 21,965 -New Permits; 25,039 –Renewals
In an interview in the Irish Times last April, Bruce Morrison referred to the Republic's asylum and immigration system as "hopelessly inefficient."
As legal immigrants will form the bulk of immigrants in future years, including Eastern European citizens of the EU, racists will continue to view them all as part of the asylum process.
The figures above show that 5,600 were recognised as refugees compared with about 59,000 applications. As only a fraction of those refused asylum are deported, it is clear that the Government’s administration of the process is a shambles.
As to the bar stool experts’ view of the gilded services on offer for asylum seekers- on arrival accommodation is full board, which includes bed, breakfast, lunch, and evening meal. Each adult receives a personal allowance of 19.05 euro per week and 9.52 euro for each child plus child benefit. There may also be assistance towards clothing cost.
The annual cost of the asylum service in Ireland is about €350 million.
This is what Bruce Morrison said in a speech on immigration to a conference last December:
‘Being a destination country is an honour. You do not get to be a destination country until certain things are true about your society--prosperity, a general sense of openness and confidence, respect for democracy and human rights. These traits make it worth trying to get into such a country. I used to say during the Cold War that there were two kinds of societies in the world: the ones you needed a visa to get into and the ones you needed a visa to get out of. And the list of the first group was short but really quite elite. It is very special to have people line up at your door because they want to visit or stay. That is how people vote with their feet about what kind of nation you are. So when Ireland joined the list of destination countries, it graduated from problems of the past to problems of the future. But those problems of the future are problems of success. And we should all want to have those problems to confront because it means we have the resources to respond and solve them. So this is a happy day.’
So the asylum issue should be resolved to avoid other immigrants being stigmatised. For some who shrug their shoulders in response to revelations of massive tax evasion and corruption but who make a big issue of the cost of the asylum process- 25% of what we received in cash aid from the EU in 2003, it is reasonable to question the motivation.
|
View Full Comment Text
save preference
Comments (20 of 20)