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Lurching from crisis to crisis on immigration

Bambie Thug does Ireland proud at Eurovision after another week of revelations at RTÉ

Tents sheltering homeless asylum seekers pitched at the Wilton Terrace area of Dublin's Grand Canal on Friday. Photograph: Enda O'Dowd

Sun May 12 2024 - 08:39

The sight of tents housing asylum seekers in Dublin city centre dominated the political agenda this week. Kitty Holland was there on Thursday morning when more than 100 tents along the Grand Canal were removed in a multiagency operation. In our Weekend Review, Kitty writes that the clearance on the Grand Canal was evidence of a more co-ordinated approach by State authorities but there is still little sign of a longer-term accommodation solution for single male asylum seekers, who remain particularly vulnerable.

On Friday, tents were appearing again along the canal amid significant concern at the highest levels of Government, however, about what one source described as “record levels” of new arrivals as the State is struggling to find extra space. There were more than 30 tents along a different stretch of the canal yesterday.

The subject of refugees coming into the Republic from Northern Ireland has become a major talking point and recent polls have indicated that many people think there should be checkpoints at the Border to limit the number of asylum seekers coming here from the UK. In his column, Fintan O’Toole queries how we have so quickly forgotten the lessons of Brexit about how difficult that would be to implement. “How did we get into this morass of magical thinking? The answer lies not so much in the overflow of people coming from Britain as in the overflow of a narrative. The Government has allowed itself, and Ireland, to become a bit part player in a toxic Tory story.”

On the same subject, Newton Emerson suggests that long-mooted compatible identity cards between Britain and Ireland could provide a solution.

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The debate around immigration is partly fuelled by the ongoing housing crisis and Cliff Taylor asks if taxpayers are seeing a worthwhile return on all the money being pumped into tackling the problem? “A clear assessment is needed as to whether this money is being spent in the best way possible – and is forensically directed at the issues that are actually inhibiting housing development.”

RTÉ reports

One of the other big stories of the week was the release of the latest reports on the state of RTÉ. Jack Horgan-Jones writes: “It will come as no surprise that three reports on RTÉ's culture, governance, HR practices and the infamous barter account make for sorry reading. The collective findings of the reports point to a troubling culture typified by sloppy, indifferent, incurious management over a period of years, culminating in the conflagration sparked by the emergence of undisclosed payments to star presenter Ryan Tubridy last year.” Our editorial highlights the need for a clear vision on the part of the Government as to what role RTÉ will play in Irish society. “The lack of clarity about RTÉ's overriding purpose is one of the factors that contributed to its festering problems and its self-combustion over the last 11 months. A failure to resolve the issue is a recipe for more of the same.”

The death of 20-year-old Josh Itseli in Drminagh brought home that violence in the Dublin underworld still poses a threat. Conor Lally discusses how after a period of relative calm, “with new feuds opening up – involving very young men – there is growing concern a fresh wave of gangland violence has effectively already begun in what could loosely be called the post-Kinahan era”.

Bambie Thug performs for Ireland at Eurovision

Last night, Bambie Thug produced Ireland’s best Eurovision result in almost 25 years, finishing sixth behind the victorious Switzerland. It was a dramatic day in Malmö, with the Dutch act being barred from performing due to an investigation into an alleged incident backstage on Thursday. Bambie Thug missed the dress rehearsal in the afternoon after a “situation” required “urgent attention” from the European Broadcasting Union. Laura Slattery covered it all in style in our live story. After more than 8,000 Eurovision-themed words, she’s “off to buy a pink flamingo jacket and perhaps some body paint”.

This weekend we have an interview with Tipperary singer Gemma Hayes, while Ed Power writes about talking to Billie Eilish in 2018 and examines the creepy sensibility of her new album.

A dramatic day in the hurling championship

In sport, Cork kept their All-Ireland hopes alive with a dramatic victory over champions Limerick in a spellbinding contest at Páirc Uí Chaoimh while Carlow earned a rare draw with Kilkenny. Munster pulled away from Connacht in the URC while Johnny Watterson spoke to former Ireland outhalf Ian Madigan about life in Belfast since his retirement last September and how he reflects on his varied career. Meanwhile, young swimmer Róisín Ní Riain was named Irish Times Sportswoman of the Month after claiming five medals, including two golds, at the European Para Swimming Championships in April.

In this week’s On the Money newsletter, Dominic Coyle writes about why Irish customers are so slow to move their savings into accounts with a better return. “It is hard to escape the conclusion that a very large proportion of Irish consumers are patsies for the banks.” Sign up here to receive the newsletter straight to your inbox every Friday.

As always, there is much more on irishtimes.com, including rundowns of all the latest movies in our film reviews, tips for the best restaurants in our food section and all the latest in sport. There are plenty more articles exclusively available for Irish Times subscribers here.

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