Ugly far-right rhetoric is distasteful to most Irish people but some need reassurance over housing refugees

It’s a shame we didn’t adopt the same attitude to Syrian refugees, but geographical proximity, a shared sense of European identity and an agreed EU policy on suspending normal rules enabled a different – and better – response to those fleeing the war in Ukraine.

One friend has a young Ukrainian woman lodging with her and it’s working out really well. My friend receives a much-needed €800 a month from the Government and her lodger is a wonderful young woman who got herself a job straight away and is providing assistance to her family stuck back in one of the worst war zones.

Another friend, in the west of Ireland, got together with neighbours to help Ukrainian teenage boys get part-time jobs and access to third-level education.

It’s a genuine community response recognising that a hotel room is not enough – you have to give people something to do and acquire skills to start a new life here or help rebuild Ukraine when they go home.

So most people here are very much behind the refugee policy, despite the high cost.

Despite this, the Government – in particular, Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman, on whose desk much of the refugee mess appears to have landed – is criticised by both left and right.

That means he’s probably getting it about right.

I’ve seen headlines with a left-wing slant complaining that resorting to army tents is unacceptable for housing refugees temporarily.

But running out of hotel rooms is not a measure of incompetence – we really have run out of rooms at times. The critics could be a bit more forgiving of the incredible pressure on the system.

Having said that, it’s wrong to leave asylum-seekers on the street. Tents should be in place for bed shortages.

Meanwhile, from the far-right ugly rhetoric is, thankfully, proving distasteful to most Irish people.

Social media is top-heavy with xenophobic commentary, while protests in Finglas and Mullingar this week show this can escalate into demonstrations on the ground.

Both protests were disavowed by the majority of local people. The Mullingar march, at which protestors objected to the use of Columb Barracks for temporary tent accommodation, was disowned by the leaders of the 30 community groups
who use the barracks for various activities. They wanted no part of that ugliness.

So, by and large, we seem to be safe from anti-immigration sentiment escalating into a polarising electoral issue.

That can change, though, and political leaders would be stupid to underestimate the potential for immigration becoming a wedge issue for unsavoury elements.

Statements of moral clarity condemning xenophobia are important, but if you want to drive normal people into the arms of the far right, the guaranteed way to do it is to call them racist when mostly they are just worried.

Politicians could acknowledge that anyone in a small or disadvantaged community (because, let’s face it, there are no tents going up in Dalkey) who is uneasy about the sudden arrival of refugees is not necessarily a racist or right-wing zealot.

I know “consultation” is often a cover for a veto, but springing surprises on communities without warning isn’t fair.

The community groups who use Columb Barracks and were looking forward to its regeneration should have been briefed on what was happening before they saw tents being pitched.

It’s called “stakeholder engagement”, which I do in my communications work. It’s not rocket science, but it’s vital for public projects.

My friend in the west who’s working with the Ukrainian boys woke up one morning to discover that, overnight, two busloads of men had been dropped off at a previously disused hotel.

Having welcomed in women, children and the elderly, it is different to wake up to a large group of men.

In a small town, I don’t blame people for wondering what the men are going to do all winter, or if there has been any security vetting.

Between January and July last year alone, more than 2,200 people presented themselves at Dublin Airport immigration services with no travel documents, even though they would have needed them to board their flights in the first place.

In 2019, passport checks were moved to the steps of some arrival flights to prevent document destruction. This resulted in people being refused leave to land and put back
on flights to return to where they came from.

That measure was scaled back. With numbers peaking now, it’s not unreasonable to put the policy back in place.

Ireland has moral and legal obligations to meet, and there’s overwhelming support for that.

But if people find themselves judged for being anxious or worried, the mood will change. Reassurance and consultation would go a long way. People want to do the right thing. Let’s help them do that.