Migration row: Have we forgotten these are people we’re talking about?
The Irish TimesMay 01
Ireland Dismantles Migrant 'Tent City' Amid Asylum Row
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The Facts
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.
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.
The Spin
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.
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.