Cork Fianna Fáil councillor criticises Government over housing of asylum seekers as TD calls for referendum on issue

A Fianna Fáil councillor has told a public meeting in Fermoy, Co Cork, that those protesting against plans to house 56 asylum seekers in the town were “genuine, decent people” and Ireland was “going down a very dangerous path when you are branded ‘far right’ if your views differ from those of the establishment”.

Cork county councillor William O’Leary made the remarks on Tuesday night, in the wake of two Galway councillors’ comments on Government policy on immigration in the wake of the fire last weekend at a Rosscahill hotel which had been earmarked to house refugees.

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Cllr O’Leary said that people might accuse him of hypocrisy in standing with those in Fermoy opposed to more asylum seekers coming to the town, given he was a member of a party in Government promoting such a policy, but he would stand by those on the protest.

“My view is that overall immigration into this country is not sustainable at current levels – the last 12 months have been sheer madness and the worrying thing is that there has been a failure by those in Government to acknowledge that there is an issue here,” he said.

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Cllr O’Leary told the meeting, which was organised by Peter Fitzgerald of Kilworth and which gardaí estimated drew a crowd of about 50, that it was true the Government was intent on accommodating more asylum seekers, but more culpable were those profiteering profiting from such a policy.

Speaking at the same meeting, Independent TD Mattie McGrath said the Government should hold a referendum on immigration next year rather than the two scheduled votes to amend the Constitution to change the concept of family and remove a reference to the role of women in the home.

Mr McGrath said immigration was a far more pressing issue.

“We now have two referendums being offered to us before St Patrick’s Day of very little relevance to many people, at least to people I have met – I called for a referendum on immigration 10 months ago and there was no mention of it since but that’s the real question to ask the people,” he said.

Mr McGrath said he wasn’t “anti-immigrant”, but the reality was Ireland could not continue accepting asylum seekers.

“I’m not a racist, I’m not far right – when I was a buachaill óg, I used to go around at the age of nine or 10 on my bike in support of my mother selling the Far East and Africa to support our missionaries all over the world, ordinary priests and nuns and now I’m supposed to be far right?” he said.

Meanwhile, a Galway Fianna Fáil councillor has said that he has had no communication from the party about disciplinary action or an investigation into his comments about plans to accommodate asylum seekers at the Ross Lake Hotel in Rosscahill, Co Galway and the arson attack at the weekend on the building.

Cllr Noel Thomas told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland programme that the only information he had received about such action was via the media. His last communication with the Tánaiste Micheál Martin had been on Sunday night when they had a long conversation, he said.

“What we wanted to clarify was, was whether I had condemned the actions of the building being burned that night. And they stated very clearly that, of course, I had. Actually what I said was any sane person, of course, that’s all they could do, was condemn the actions that happened that night, and then it went from there.

“Basically, I said I’m not happy with what he, Micheál Martin, is doing to this country at the moment. And he stated he was not happy with what I was saying to that. That was the gist of the conversation.”

Mr Thomas said he had received “zero communication” from Fianna Fáil since that conversation on Sunday night. He repeated his concern about “cramming” four people into a room in a hotel that was not in an urban setting.

”So when I say the inn is full, it is full because of irresponsible open border policies that this Government have had in place”, he added.

Mr Martin said on Tuesday he made it “very clear” to Cllr Thomas and another Fianna Fáil councillor, Séamus Walsh that comments they made in the wake of the arson attack on the hotel in Galway were “completely unacceptable”.

The Fianna Fáil leader, said on Tuesday that he has spoken directly to Cllr Thomas and had endeavoured to contact Cllr Walsh by phone. He said party headquarters had been in direct contact with Cllr Walsh since then.

Mr Martin said: “He [Cllr Thomas] did make comments to the effect that the attack was as a result of Government policy. I pointed out to him that this has been Government policy over a number of decades now in respect of honouring our obligations under European Union [laws], but also under the Geneva Convention and other international legal frameworks.”

When asked if he was going to stay in the Fianna Fáil party, Cllr Thomas said he hoped so. “To be honest with you, I think I am much more entitled to my place in the Fianna Fail party than the likes of Micheál Martin is.”

Meanwhile, Fianna Fail MEP Barry Andrews has said that the councillors who made controversial comments about the accommodating of asylum seekers in Rosscahill should be subjected to the full disciplinary process.

Mr Andrews told RTE radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show that he had been very disappointed by the language used by the councillors and that their comments were “really untypical” of the membership of the party.

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