- Police in Ireland on Wednesday dismantled the tents of around 200 asylum seekers in Dublin's Mount Street area amid tensions over a surging migrant population and a nationwide housing shortage. reuters.com (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- The Irish government says that the migrants have been moved to shelters, with Taoiseach Simon Harris saying that they will not accept "makeshift shantytowns," and that the migrants will not be allowed to return to the encampment. Dw.Com
- The migrants have been moved to hotels in Dublin and facilities in Crooksling, where they will be placed in "military-style tents" housing eight each. The Crooksling site will provide them with meals, sanitary facilities, and 24-hour security. Independent (LR: 2 CP: 3)
- The Irish government has claimed that 80% of the country's asylum seekers have entered through Northern Ireland, with Dublin insisting on Tuesday that the UK honor a 2020 deal mandating that they accept the migrants Ireland returns to them. FT.com
- UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has rejected the idea that the country will accept any migrants from Ireland. This comes as Dublin is grappling with a court ruling which determined that the UK was not a safe third country for asylum seekers. FT.com
- Ireland has seen 6,739 asylum applications this year, leading to protests over the scale of immigration. Many in Ireland have attributed the surge to the UK's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, though some have questioned the claim. BBC News (LR: 3 CP: 5)
Left narrative:
- While the UK's Rwanda Plan is certainly inhumane and dysfunctional, the government of Ireland cannot itself resort to cheap scapegoating of migrants. Ireland's claim that most migrants are arriving through Northern Ireland is dubious, and obscures the fact that Ireland is making it harder for migrants to claim asylum. It is time for the government to stop appeasing the far right and uphold its obligations under international law.
THE IRISH TIMES
Right narrative:
- The fact of the matter is that Ireland is far too lenient when accepting asylum claimants, and it isn't "far-right" to object to the sorry state of affairs in the country. Indeed, the success of the Rwanda initiative in encouraging migrants into Ireland proves that a tough policy is the only way to solve the migrant crisis. With the nation buckling under the weight of the migrants, the government must take decisive action now.
INDEPENDENT (LR: 2 CP: 3)