Simon Harris has described comparisons made between him and Nigel Farage as a “dog whistle”.
The Tánaiste’s comments came after Social Democrats TD Garry Gannon said that Mr Harris and other Government members were following a “playbook” similar to that of Mr Farage, the Reform UK leader, and US President Donald Trump, reports Breaking News.
Mr Gannon made the remarks in response to Mr Harris’s statement that migration into Ireland was “too high”. Labour MEP Aodhán Ó Ríordáin also said the Tánaiste’s comments amounted to “dog whistling”.
Speaking on Thursday, Mr Harris said that migration and diversity were “good” for Ireland but reiterated his belief that immigration levels had “risen at too high a rate”, reports Breaking News.
Engaging with Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan during Leaders’ Questions, he said: “You haven’t said it, but I do think some of the comments from your party this week were disappointing.
“Because to accuse someone of dog whistling at the same time calling them Nigel Farage, which is a dog whistle, isn’t a mature debate, when people want to, from other political parties, immediately just call me names for stating a fact, in my view, that migration has risen at too high a rate,” reports Breaking News.
Mr O’Callaghan highlighted sectors with high numbers of migrant workers and challenged the Tánaiste to clarify which areas he would target for reductions.
He told Mr Harris: “Your words matter. Where misinformation is spread, we must challenge it. Where there are attempts to sow hate and division, we must build cohesion. Tánaiste, leadership means bringing calm to a debate, not inflaming it.”
He continued: “You said that migration outside of the number of international protection applicants is too high. What I’d like to know is, what sectors will you be targeting to reduce the number of migrant workers?” reports Breaking News.
He then asked if reductions would target multinationals, pharmaceuticals, or tech companies — sectors that provide major employment and tax revenue. Mr O’Callaghan also raised concerns about the health, care, food processing, construction, and hospitality sectors.
In response, Mr Harris said: “I often say our health service would fall over if it wasn’t for people coming – and I take your point that there’s many other parts of our economy and our society.”
However, he said that Ireland “had to have a clear migration policy” as increased immigration placed pressure on public services, reports Breaking News.
“It is just a statement of fact that our population has grown at a very, very fast rate,” Mr Harris said. “It is a statement of fact that for every 10,000 people that come into our country, roughly 3,000 more homes are needed.”
He added that Ireland needed to plan for migration “in the round” and have “a mature discussion about what is an appropriate level of migration”, reports Breaking News.
The Fine Gael leader said this approach would involve assessing workforce needs “sector by sector”.
Holding up a Eurostat chart in the Dáil, Mr Harris said data showed Ireland’s population had grown “way faster” than the European average in terms of net migration.
Mr O’Callaghan pressed him to name the sectors that had an “oversupply” of migrant workers and to explain where reductions would occur, reports Breaking News.
Mr Harris replied: “Yes, we continue to need people to come. Nobody is proposing a migration policy that would see us not issuing work visas or work permits. But it has to be looked at in a balanced manner. It has to be looked at sector by sector.”
He said this was standard practice “in most mature democracies” and added: “We’re late to this,” reports Breaking News.
The Tánaiste also noted that 29% of immigration figures relate to international protection applicants.
“So I reject the argument – you haven’t made today, but some have made it in recent days – that international protection is an incidental part of this conversation, I reject that: It’s not.”
He said that 80% of the 18,561 international protection applications last year were rejected in the first round, calling it a “challenge”, reports Breaking News.
“They were found not to qualify for international protection. That needs to be addressed,” he added.
The International Protection Appeal Tribunal received 8,835 appeals last year and made decisions on 2,877 in 2024, with 28% of appeals proving successful through asylum or subsidiary protection, reports Breaking News.
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