Last week’s riots in Dublin after three children and a woman were stabbed outside a school have revealed an increasingly palpable truth in Ireland: violent far-right groups. It is a situation that alarms both security forces and leading political leaders, who have taken measures to prevent the spread of fake news and hate messages on social networks to prevent new violence on the streets. But the rhetoric of radical groups is gaining increasing support from a population hit by terrorist attack. housing crisis and very critical arrival of refugees in the country.
Asylum applications reached a new level record in 2022There are more than 13,000 recorded cases and almost added to them 90,000 Ukrainians Which have been welcomed since the Russian occupation began. The increase in the number of migrants and refugees forced the Government to accelerate the search for temporary accommodation and led its representatives to realize that they were at the limit of their capabilities, which accelerated the spread of messages such as: “Ireland is full” (Irish dolmuş) is among the far-right groups on social networks, which has caused an increase in movements in the last year.
Teacher Mary GilmartinThe Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission collaborator explains that there is an initiative in Ireland. radical right Holding refugees responsible for rising housing prices. “Far right look for cracks In the system that causes people to demonstrate and allows them to take control of the situation. “There have been small-scale local protests in recent years against the use of resources to host refugees.” The teacher underlines that in most cases an attempt has been made match applicants asylum violence and crime.
Dublin riots
The riots in Dublin began after this incident. rumor It was stated that the person who carried out the attack was an immigrant Algerian origin. Police did not want to give details about his identity, but it turned out that he was a man in his 50s. Irish nationality after 20 years in the country. However, far-right groups overlooked that the person who neutralized the attacker was one person. Brazilian immigrant Person working as home delivery food delivery boy. First Minister, Leo Varadkar The Christian Democrat party, Fine Gael, has defended immigration policy and severed the link between the arrival of foreigners and crime, but xenophobic rhetoric is more likely than ever to continue to gain strength.
There were many events last year that demonstrated this. radicalization In Ireland, parts of the population oppose not only the arrival of immigrants but also gender policies or vaccines. Last September, a group of violent protesters They gathered in front of the parliament The (Oireachtas) prevented the MPs, who had to leave the venue accompanied by police, from leaving. At least 13 people were arrested In a protest that the government described as “scary” And “fascist”.
presence in parliament
There are currently no far-right parties in parliament in Ireland and no visible faces leading this movement, but there are more and more political representatives. anti-immigration speech. “There are a significant number of independent MPs in Parliament, many of whom make similar statements to far-right parties,” says Professor Gilmartin, adding that Government parties are formed by a centre-right coalition with government parties. Thin GaelHE Fianna Fáil And Greenallowed MPs in constituencies most affected by asylum policies to adopt the policy more challenging positions to gain votes.
Although discourse towards immigrants has been on the rise in Ireland in recent months, it is far from reaching the levels reached in other European countries such as the Netherlands and the UK. something Gilmartin attributes to country’s historyhistorically linked migration Towards the United States. “I think there’s something increased general awareness About immigration in Ireland and the challenges faced by immigrants. “In the past, different parties in the Irish government have campaigned for undocumented Irish in the United States to regularize their situation,” he notes. refugee support organizations It also contributed to minimizing the impact of hate speech in the country for now.