Pointing out lunacy doesn’t make you a right wing lunatic

IT’S not often the riot squad is called out to enforce what passes for government policy but it was this week.

And what a week it’s been when the ordinary people of Roscrea were accused of being racist while Mayo County Council has supposedly taken a lurch to the right.

Well, that’s what some in government and sections of the media would have you believe when all they were doing is pointing out the Coalition’s insane immigration policies.

A prime example of this was on display when it emerged the Government is to use taxpayers’ money to buy a closed down hotel following protests over another hotel it took over to house asylum seekers.

You don’t have to be cynical to suspect such a move is as much aimed at saving the seats of government TDS as it is about placating the local people in Roscrea who have lost the only hotel in a town of more than 4,000 people.

“Clearly, there’s a great need for the facilities that a hotel offers to the community,” a minister stated in recent days.

The question the people in the Co

Tipperary town are entitled to ask is if that’s the case, then why did his government close down the hotel they had?

The Government’s strategy seems to be that if locals complain enough and stage protests they’ll buy a hotel and if they don’t they’ll just ship in asylum seekers regardless of what facilities are lost.

That’s the Government’s shambolic immigration policy in a nutshell.

Mayo County Council also found itself in the firing line after councillors passed a motion to stop cooperation with the Government on housing refugees.

It’s not that the local politicians have gone far right, it’s just they are doing the right thing for their constituents.

The public knows the Government is making it up as it goes along and local politicians know their seats are at stake if they go along with this farce.

Paschal Donohoe has belatedly admitted immigration is going to be an issue in June’s local elections. It’s going to be more than that, it will be the number one election issue.

On RTE’S Today with Claire Byrne, the Public Expenditure Minister tried to defend the Government’s dysfunctional immigration policies and claimed 800 deportation orders were issued last year.

While this is correct he didn’t reveal that just 100 were enforced. This could easily be classed as misinformation.

When the State has a voluntary deportation policy – which means those deemed to be illegally in the country have to leave of their own accord – the system is wide open to abuse.

It is shameful the way ordinary citizens and their communities are being scapegoated and accused of being racist when in fact Irish people are welcoming and tolerant but their tolerance has been pushed to the limit. We have a Minister for Integration whose policies have had the opposite effect and only succeeded in alienating the public.

There are very few who would argue that immigration is not a positive thing but busing coach loads of young men from countries where there are no wars in the dead of night is not the way to go about it.

At the same time as there are close to 600 asylum seekers sleeping on the streets there are 6,000 successful asylum applicants who have been given the green light to stay in the country in free State accommodation and receiving benefits.

The reason they cannot move away from State supports is because of the housing crisis which has been largely brought about by government policies.

The public also has an absolute right to ask why thousands of men from Algeria, Morocco, Georgia, Albania and many other “safe” countries are allowed to claim asylum.

If the accommodation they are taking up was vacated there would be no need to deprive towns and communities of their hotels or sports facilities.

And the public has a right to question the Government’s claims this country does not have open borders when almost 70% of those arriving at Dublin airport last year to claim asylum did not have a valid identification document.

Now the Government intends to magic up State-controlled accommodation centres when it has failed miserably to provide housing for Irish citizens.

When all the hotels and reception centres are full, where are all these asylum seekers and migrants going to go?

They say all politics is local. The Government is going to find out just how local come the elections next June.

Ordinary citizens and communities are being scapegoated