Election 2024: Each major party’s stance on immigration

Ava Keady

Voices from Ireland’s political parties explain their stance on immigration.

With just days to go until the general election takes place, the JOE team have pulled together some of the leading voices within the political parties asking for your vote.

We asked them to explain in 60 seconds or less, their / their party’s plan for each of the most debated topics coming to the election.

The discussed topics include housing, Palestine, cost of living, the Apple windfall, housing, and climate change.

In regards to immigration, the candidates answered as follows:

Fianna Fáil – Micheál Martin

“We need to change the way we’re dealing with migration, particularly those seeking asylum. Migration, generally, is good for the economy, and good for society. But there are huge numbers coming in via the asylum seeking process.

“We want to create a new Department of Domestic Affairs that will deal with migration in its totality, in one department, that would also have a border control agency, faster, fairer procedures as part of the European Migration and Asylum pact. And we need to do that to deal with the pressures on communities across the country. And we would support those communities.”

Sinn Fein – Eoin Ó Broin

“The Governments handling, particularly of the international protection system in recent years has been an abject failure. Sinn Féin wants a system that is compassionate, that is human rights based, and ultimately that’s fair, that’s efficient, and that’s enforced.

“We also need to end the profiteering and the use of private hotels and commercial buildings, and instead have good quality state provided temporary accommodation for those seeking international protection. And those centers should be located in areas that have the infrastructure and facilities to meet the needs both of the wider community and those people seeking refugee status.”

Fine Gael – Neale Richmond

“Immigration is a good thing. We benefit so much from immigration, from people coming here to work, to enrich our culture, to enrich our society. But we all know that people want to be able to talk about immigration openly and make sure they know that the government is doing right. We want to make sure that processing times are quick. Quick for the people who are able to remain here, and quick for the people who need to move on.

“We need to be able to be clean on exactly how we handle immigration, that we promote the benefits of it, but that we have a fair but firm rule based system. There’s no shortage of empathy amongst the Irish people, but they do deserve, and we will continue to deliver a clear system that is open and transparent for all.”

Social Democrats – Gary Gannon

“The Soc Dems approach to immigration is that we believe people have a right to come here and be treated fairly as they do. Where the government have failed, is they’ve failed to provide for the basic needs of people who come her seeking asylum, while their applications are being processed. The Soc Dems would quadruple the budget for IPAS but we’ll also enact the Catherine Day report, which called for state reception centers to be built. People need to be treated with respect. That is not happening. They are being placed in tents at the foot of mountains.”

The Green Party – Neasa Hourigan

“The Green Party had the immigration brief in the last government and we experience a huge influx of both people seeking international protection, and obviously the war in Ukraine, which did put a huge amount of pressure on the system. And I think you’re seeing the state struggle with the impact of that. However, the Green Party and myself particularly, I’m very, very proud of the fact that we have managed to maintain our belief in the provision of services with dignity and respect and ones that are rooted in human rights.

“We have a legal and moral obligation to provide people with asylum where they seek it. And this country is at full employment. We definitely need people coming into the country. They run our health system, they run our construction sector. And we should be able to do that in a way that offers people a chance that is fair, that is trustworthy, and that we can all rely on.”

Labour Party – Darragh Moriarty

“Labour wants to introduce and implement the measure of the Catherine Day report. We need state run reception facilities. I think what’s really, really important when it comes to immigration is that we do not, do not pit vulnerable communities against each other. Lots of people have concerns about the lack of investment in the public services in their community. That is a government failure. That is not the fault of the person coming to this country seeking protection, seeking refuge.

“Any Irish person will have family in the four corners of the world who fled over the years. We as a country during the famine, fled all over the world. And we have to welcome people in this country. I really do dispel the notion that we have a legal responsibility to do this. I think we have a moral responsibility to do it. I don’t think we should get too hung up on our legal obligations here, I think it’s the right thing to do, and we have to welcome people, and we have to invest in public services in our communities.”

People before Profit – Paul Murphy

“Immigration is not the reason for any of the problems ordinary people face. It’s not the reason for the housing crisis. No reason for the health crisis. It’s not the reason for the cost of living crisis. In my opinion, immigration has been used as a kind of divide and rule tactic to distract people from the failures of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. To distract them from the fact Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s friends get rich from these crises and instead get them to blame other vulnerable people.

“Ireland is a wealthy country, we can afford to welcome people who are coming to seek asylum here. We should give people the right to work. We should enable them to ingrate into our communities and to add to our society.”

Independent – Clare Daly

“I’ve a long record of campaigning to end direct provision. I believe that our state has treated asylum seeks shamefully. We need to completely change our migration policy. We’re a dismal country, but a very, very rich one. We can adequately accommodate those who come here looking for our help. But unfortunately the government has used it to divide communities, to divert attention from the problems that they themselves have caused.

“We need a fair migration system where people who want to come and live here and work here shook be allowed. When the European Union enlarged, we took in over 100,000 from Eastern Europe. We took in many more asylum seekers and there was no problem because they had houses and they were allowed to work. We need to get back to allowing people to have a decent life in Ireland no matter where they come from.”