TDS FEAR RACE WILL BE ELECTION ISSUE

CONCERN is growing across all parties that race will be a major issue for the first time in an Irish election in 2020.

Sources across all parties believe that, particularly in rural Ireland, the issue of immigration will be used by the unscrupulous to win seats.

One senior Fianna Fáil figure close to Micheál Martin said: ‘This is going to be the first-ever election where race will be an issue and no amount of liberal wish-fulfilment will stop it.’

The Taoiseach’s uncertain performance in the wake of his comments on migrants from Georgia and Albania has increased concerns about the capacity of Mr Varadkar and his government to tackle this issue.

In a series of statements, Mr Varadkar said it ‘should not be a controversial thing’ to speak out against illegal immigration, stressing that the Government stands firmly against it.

But the Taoiseach also warned people ‘to call out the scaremongering’ surrounding the accommodation of asylum seekers.

Mr Varadkar though was strongly defended by the Fine Gael TD Colm Brophy who said: ‘Leo is right to speak out. If politicians in the centre do not speak out, then this issue is owned by the extremes of the right and the left.’

Labour Senator Aodhán Ó Riordán warned: ‘The rise of social media means we can no longer be gate-keepers when it comes to these issues.’

One Fianna Fáil source said: ‘We don’t want to give this air. This is not about race. It is about communities feeling isolated and dislocated.’