LIVE: 'We need to have an honest discussion about the levels of asylum seekers'
Tipperary councillor voices his opinion...what do you think?
"We need to have a genuine, honest, open discussion about the levels of asylum seekers coming into Ireland at the moment," says Tipperary councillor, Liam Browne.
In a post on Facebook, he added: "And I mean genuine, honest and open.
"Away from rhetoric. Away from accusations of "racist"/"far right"/"unvetted males"/"plantation"/"cultural destruction"/whatever other names and labels people on either side of the discussion want to use to further their argument.
"The figures posted below, are sobering.
"The latest statistics from May 2024, show that the number of applications for asylum seeking into Ireland, is 381 per million people living here. The overall EU average, is 184.
"Ireland is now the receiving the highest per capita number of applications for asylum, in the whole EU.
"We are the most westerly country in the EU. You literally cannot reach Ireland, from the majority of the countries where high numbers of asylum seekers are coming from, (Nigeria, Syria, Jordan, Afghanistan), without travelling through practically the whole EU...yet Ireland still has the highest numbers per capita.
"Much of that in the last 6 months, is driven by a change in British asylum law, not even EU law.
"And it can't continue. It is creating massive social friction. It is creating political frictions. It is wrecking the social cohesion of many communities.
"And, if what we were told this week by Government officials is true, it is a policy they are determined to continue, regardless of the problem it is causing, or the wishes of communities nation wide.
"All we are doing, is storing up a massive future problem. We need to address that now, before it becomes overwhelming."