Half of the Irish public now want migrant checkpoints on the border with Northern Ireland to slow the arrivals of asylum seekers from Britain, a new poll has found, as anti-immigration protests erupt across Dublin.
Fifty percent of respondents told the Sunday Independent and Ireland think they would support checkpoint measures to limit the number of asylum seekers arriving from Britain, while 82 percent support deportations back to Britain.
As tent communities in Dublin continue to grow, a whopping 40 percent of respondents to the survey added that they would support Ireland with a policy similar to the UK’s Rwanda program – with 42 percent opposing the measures.
The Irish public has reacted strongly to increased levels of migration, with Dublin today hosting a major protest over the housing of asylum seekers.
Images from the scene show large crowds of people draped in the Irish flag and carrying a variety of signs and banners reading ‘Irish Lives Matter’ and ‘We Want Our Country Back’ as they gathered in the Garden of Remembrance in the North City this afternoon before marching down O’Connell Street to the Custom House where speeches were made.
A crowd attended a protest against the government’s immigration policies in Dublin, Ireland today
Today an anti-immigration march took place in Dublin with some waving banners saying ‘we want the country back’
Protesters were seen shouting as they voiced their demands for migrant checkpoints on the border with Northern Ireland
Protesters were seen waving colored smoke flares while wearing t-shirts that read: ‘House the Irish first’.
Footage and photos from the mass demonstration show groups of angry locals marching down the street chanting “Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole,” “out, out, out” and “our streets.”
Other signs spotted amid the crowd included “Ireland belongs to the Irish,” “Irish civil rights,” “Stop WHO pandemic treaty,” “Mass deportations” and “Economic migrants are not refugees.”
Local groups from Coolock and Newtownmountkennedy – where protests recently took place against buildings used to house applicants for international protection – were also represented.
Shocking photos from Monday’s protest showed some protesters wearing hoodies and balaclavas as they passed the GPO, where about 200 people staged a counter-protest “united against racism.”
Those present at the counter-protest waved Palestinian flags with the text: ‘No to far-right lies and racism’.
Others read: ‘Homes for people, homes for all’, ‘War creates refugees’ and ‘Welcome all refugees’.
Between them and those marching out of the Garden of Remembrance stood a line of gardai.
There was a strong Garda presence, including members of the Public Order Unit, well before the protest.
Flag-waving demonstrators took part in an anti-immigration protest in central Dublin today
A protester carries a sign reading ‘Irish Lives Matter’ during a demonstration in central Dublin today
Tents for asylum seekers seen on the banks of the Grand Canal at Warrington Place in Dublin
According to the Irish timesit took about 45 minutes for the entire crowd to pass through O’Connell Street, causing significant traffic disruption.
Despite growing concerns about migration in Ireland, both Sinn Féin and the Irish government have said the imposition of checkpoints on the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as a Rwanda-style deportation program, are out of the question.
Ireland’s justice minister, Helen McEntree, recently claimed that 80 percent of this year’s estimated 7,000 asylum seekers had come from Britain via Northern Ireland. This led the government to declare that Britain was unsafe for migrants because of the Rwanda plan, sparking a diplomatic row.
Members of the Irish Cabinet told The Mail on Sunday that fierce divisions had since emerged within the Irish government, with critics slamming new Prime Minister Simon Harris for being outmaneuvered by Rishi Sunak on the issue.
Following the row with the Conservative Party over migration to Ireland, concerns about immigration have risen by 15 percent, according to the poll.
And 72 percent said they believed McEntree’s disputed claim about the number of migrants coming to Ireland from Northern Ireland.
Rishi Sunak has refused to take back refugees from Ireland unless France agrees to take back refugees who crossed the English Channel to reach Britain.
However, he warned Ireland against sending police to patrol the border for illegal migrants, amid concerns about the creation of a “hard border” between north and south.
A large crowd gathers for an anti-mass immigration protest, marching from Dublin’s Gardens of Remembrance through the city center on May 6, 2024
Poll found 50 percent of Irish locals want border checkpoints to deter migrants
A tent village in Dublin on April 30, 2024, where migrants were forced to sleep on footpaths and roads
As many as 40 percent of respondents added that they would support Ireland with a policy similar to the UK’s Rwanda program
Critics condemn new Prime Minister Simon Harris (pictured) for being outmaneuvered by Rishi Sunak on migration
The Prime Minister said last week that Dublin must keep its promise after the Republic pledged to send 100 Gardai officers to patrol the border amid concerns over rising migrant numbers.
Even before the huge influx of migrants, Ireland’s Ministry of Integration and the International Protection Office were struggling to cope with at least 30,000 asylum seekers and 100,000 Ukrainian refugees amid a devastating housing supply crisis.
Frustrated Irish citizens are believed to have burned down dozens of derelict buildings earmarked as future asylum centers as early as 2018 and in April, when a site was created in County Wicklow to protest the government over its decision to use it for refugees. to get off.
And this afternoon demonstrators gathered in Dublin for an anti-immigration protest.
Crowds gathered at the Garden of Remembrance before continuing along O’Connell Street amid a gardai presence.
Many of the protesters held Irish flags and banners with messages such as ‘Irish Lives Matter’ and ‘Coolock Says No’, amid chants of ‘get them out’.
A counter-protest took place outside the GPO on O’Connell Street, where people held up banners reading: ‘Unite against racism. Refugees welcome.’