National Party president wants immigrants to leave

The president of a new far-wing party has alleged that immigrants should leave the country, as they contributed to the collapse in the economy.

Justin Barrett, who heads the newly launched National Party, said an event for his new group was cancelled by the Merrion Hotel this week, after opposition from liberal groups.

After 10 years out of politics, he said yesterday he had formed a new party as everything he had “predicted would happen to Ireland was happening”.

Speaking to Matt Cooper on Today FM, the former No to Nice campaigner and Youth Defence member made allegations about immigrants.

Huge opposition over the National Party’s publicity event in Dublin this week forced its cancellation.

It was revealed previously that Mr Barrett attended and spoken at extreme right-wing events, including in Germany and Italy.

A video showed him at a National Democrat Party event in May 2000, where skinheads, brownshirts, and people applauding Nazi heroes were present.

Officials with the party this week admitted they were trying to capitalise on the back of the election of Donald Trump. Asked about his opinions on immigrants in Ireland, Mr Barrett said: “They have done in their numbers exactly what I said they were going to do.”

Cheap loans and cheap labour were factors that collapsed the economy, he said, and immigrants had “skewed” the economy. He said Ireland’s mainstream parties did not represent people opposed to mass immigration.

“Their supporters are deeply dismayed but you can’t bring it up at a political party meeting,” he said.

“We’ve been holding meetings to see the level of support that is out or could be out there for the nationalist agenda.”

He denied ever being an extremist, and said he wanted immigrants to leave.