Ireland Is Becoming Less Safe, But It’s Not What You Think

Over the last few months we have seen a growing narrative that Ireland, the country we all know and love, is “becoming an unsafe place”. This narrative is based on, and blames, immigration – using those who are fleeing conflict as a scapegoat, and avoiding what is largely true.

Ireland is becoming less safe due to racially charged fear, racially charged violence and purely racist ideologies. Ireland is becoming a less safe place due to racially based violence and confrontation as well as the pushing of far right propaganda.

This painful commentary from the far right began from a conversation on the link between immigration and the current housing crisis in Ireland, a pot of gold topic for the far right.

People were, and are, extremely quick to believe that the sole cause of Ireland’s extreme housing crisis is due to the immigrants that our country is taking in. But Ireland has been suffering the effects of a housing crisis since the first half of 2009 due to the recession.

The reason the crisis began was due to a mistake, a major mistake, made during the Celtic Tiger when the government decided to cease all construction for social housing. Social housing allowed there to be affordable housing in the market and prevented private companies from putting extortionate prices on residential properties.

Due to the Irish government terminating the construction for social housing, the public were left to pay extortionate prices to these private corporations as their sole intention is to profit from their shareholders. The rate of social homes being built during 2006 was 90,000, compared to in 2014 with only 10,000 homes, while the overall price of housing increased by 16.4%.

Last year there were 30,000 new dwellings completed, a decrease of 6.7% from 2023. 57.4% were scheme residences, 22.7% were apartments, and 19.9% were single dwellings. The far right are weaponising migrants as the issue when in reality it’s members of the government who continue to make these decisions, year after year.

Ireland is becoming a more dangerous place due to racial remarks and confrontations, the right wings extreme agenda and the spread of toxic misogyny causing severe emotional, physical and sexual abuse women and men.

The narrative of immigration causing more violence in Ireland is true, however the majority of this violence is directed towards the migrants, not the other way around.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee spoke on the narrative that immigration is raising crime rates in Ireland earlier last year stating that there is “no facts to back that up. None whatsoever. There is certainly not an increase and there is certainly not a correlation between the increasing numbers (of people) that we’ve seen in the last two years and an increase in crime. That is very clear.”

 

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McEntee also touched on the growing story pushed by the fair right that migrants do not have background checks before entering Ireland. “There is a perception out there that people are coming in with criminal backgrounds that we don’t know about. And that somehow crime is increasing because of the people that are coming in,” she said.

This is not true. Like anyone entering any country, migrants are required to provide proper identification. Aidan Minnock, Detective Chief Superintendent of the Garda National Immigration Bureau stated last December that there is no such thing as “an unvetted migrant” in Ireland. Not only is every person entering the country seeking international protection identified, they are also fingerprinted.

There are no statistics from the Gardaí on what racial demographic are committing crimes in Ireland however it is clear that the Gardaí have not reported any increase in crime or violence in the immediate locality of the locations where asylum seekers are inhabiting.

However, there has been a rise in hate crimes and in crimes of arson made by far right activists posing as Irish ‘nationalists’ in areas in which these asylum seekers are living, or where they are rumoured to be living.

In the most latest Gardaí report (2022-2023) there were 651 documented hate crimes and hate-related incidents that year – the real figure is bound to be higher.

In 27% of all cases, the motive was fuelled by racism, 18% was driven by anti-nationality and anti-sexual orientation sentiment accounted for 16%.

From the 6th of May – 16th of August 2024, the Institute of Strategic Dialogue conducted a study documenting anti-immigrant activity in Ireland. During this study they found 61 instances where refugees, immigrants, asylum seekers and people of colour experienced a form of hate crime or hate-related incidents. Again this figure is estimated to be way higher.

In the report they found that 83% of the incidents were “overt racist abuse or intimidation being directed at the victim”, 31% were “acts of physical violence towards individuals or damage to their property” and that 70% of the incidents were filmed by the abusers themselves.

It is not only the ordinary citizens of Ireland that are pushing this narrative, there are many influencers and celebrities who choose to express their uneducated facts to the world. Think Conor McGregor, found guilty of rape and physical abuse, Donald Trump, found guilty of rape and sexual abuse, and Andrew Tate, charged with rape and human trafficking.

Countless women and men have been posting to social media stating that we must remove all immigrants from Ireland in order to “protect our women” and to “keep our women safe” however, when there is an Irish or white man who has been accused and even found guilty of harming women there is radio silence from these groups.

Some even take it a step further and choose to idolise these convicted abusers as they stand up in the White House. “Fair play to him,” they say.

These are the men that are influencing the younger generation, who are spreading misogynistic, sexist and racist ideologies… and they are only growing in popularity.

It’s upsetting to see that people have so quickly forgotten our history. Irish people have always emigrated, and at our highest point, the Great Famine, over 8.5 million Irish people fled this country to seek shelter and a safer way of life.

Why can’t we accept people into our own country who are only looking for the same?