Mick Clifford: We must avoid gutter of cheap politics

Reserves of empathy will continue to be required from a public that has thus far shown itself to be welcoming of those fleeing their homes

A silage bale blocking another entrance at Magowna House on Wednesday. Reserves of patience and empathy will continue to be required from a public that has thus far, to the greatest extent, shown itself to be largely welcoming of those fleeing their homes.

Another ugly week in a time of living dangerously for some. Migrants forced to live in tents on a Dublin street were attacked and burnt out of their makeshift homes. Then during the week, another protest, another flashpoint, when a blockade was erected at the entrance to a hotel in Inch, Co Clare, because some locals were unhappy at how asylum seekers were being relocated there. 

There is no context in which the incident in Dublin can be described as anything other than hate and thuggery. What unfolded at the Magowna House hotel in Inch is of a different order. There are fears, some real, others manipulated or manufactured, in places like Inch around the country.

One of the despicably manufactured fears concerns young, male asylum seekers. Comments calling for them to be “vetted” and suggestions that in a rural setting they will be “bored out of their minds” were thrown about last week, and not just by members of the public, but some politicians. 

The effect of such comments is to convey or pander to fear. Bored young men far from home with no stake yet in society, what will they get up to? Light up your imagination and take your pick across the range of nefarious activity from petty crime to sexual assault. The message is to literally lock up your daughters. 

Reality should be given a constant and repeated airing by anybody who cares to deal in facts. 

It is the case that a large majority of asylum seekers are male, usually because these are the kind of people who were best equipped to flee their homes — often in patriarchal societies — and are often the demographic most likely to be subjected to violence.

They have travelled thousands of miles to make a new life for themselves. In many, if not most, cases they have fled violence or oppression. For some the journey from their homes to this alleged haven has taken years. Among them will be individuals who have witnessed unspeakable cruelty in the course of their plight. Finally, they arrive, full of hope that a new life may be possible. And merely by dint of their boredom in a transient hub, before they can get motoring in a new home, they are targeted as potential sexual predators. Is this now Ireland of the welcomes?

Public finances

There is, however, substance to many of the protests that have taken place which needs to be recognised. The emergency prompted by Ukraine and a major increase in international protection applicants has forced the government to scramble for accommodation wherever it can be located. The outcome has been an amplification of the dissonance between private wealth and public squalor that has typified the latest economic boom. 

Public services in housing, health, and education do not accord with an exchequer that is rolling in money. That’s bad enough in normal circumstances, but when a sudden influx of people occurs it can stretch things to breaking point. The efforts made by central government to prop up services where there has been an influx of new arrivals have been weak, to put it at its mildest.

There is an additional, and in some ways more acute, problem with the accommodation being sourced in rural Ireland, particularly on the western seaboard. According to figures released in February, every county from Cork up along to Donegal is individually providing more accommodation than any of the Dublin local authorities, and in some cases, more than all four Dublin authorities combined. 

For instance, Kerry was recorded as hosting 6,016 Ukrainians, Clare 3,724, while Dublin City Council hosted 3,179. (The figures for international protection applicants are of the same order but calculated over different areas in the capital). In effect, the large number of refugees accommodated on the western seaboard has resulted in a displacement of tourist rooms. This week three new centres were announced for Dublin, which is welcome but much more rebalancing is required.

According to a report presented to the Government earlier this month, the tourist economy will take a €1.1bn hit as a result of this displacement. For every €1 spent on accommodation by a tourist visitor, there is €2.50 spent in the local economy. The current scenario has been a boon to property owners but will, and already is, impact on the capacity of many to earn a living. 

This has to be addressed by the Government if a fitting and proper welcome is to continue to be accorded to those seeking refuge here. 

Asking people to make adjustments to their community in response to this emergency is entirely appropriate. Asking some, and only some, to put up with reduced financial circumstances in this national interest is a different matter.

At a political level, the load also needs to be spread at cabinet to effect the kind of joined-up actions that should be demanded of a functioning government. The two Green Party ministers, Roderick O’Gorman and junior minister Joe O’Brien, appear to be carrying the full load in what is a challenge with many different facets. From the outside, it appears as if the other two partners in government are happy to see the issue as one for those two lads rather than something requiring action in a coordinated manner across government.

There are no easy solutions to the current crisis. Many believe that what is now unfolding merely represents a new dispensation which will be with us for a long time.

Adjustments have to be made, both by society and by new arrivals. For instance, is it fair that those who have status — including Ukrainians who have it automatically — and who have acquired work, continue to be housed by the state in centres designed for new arrivals?

Reserves of patience and empathy will continue to be required from a public that has thus far, to the greatest extent, shown itself to be largely welcoming of those fleeing their homes. But more focused and resolute action should be demanded from Government to better handle what is an enormously tricky situation.

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The worst-case scenario is that immigration, and in this country that largely means asylum seekers and refugees, becomes an issue at the next general election. Reservations, concerns and even legitimate fears in some respect are all understandable in the current crisis. If that advances to a point where some politicians see advantage in ramping up the fear and chasing votes all the way into the gutter, then we are entering dangerous territory. This kind of cheap politics is now a feature of other jurisdictions and nothing positive has emerged from any of it. 

Avoiding a similar fate here will take hard work and patience across the political spectrum among those who profess to care about more than just winning seats at any cost.