Leo Varadkar has stated that it is a “illusion” to believe that the State has the authority to significantly reduce immigration, reports Newstalk.
This morning, the former Taoiseach made headlines once more when he cautioned that immigration has increased in Ireland much too rapidly in recent years and implied that this has been a significant burden for the nation.
While most Irish people believe immigration has benefited Ireland recently, Deputy Varadkar stated during a visit to the University of Notre Dame in the US that individuals are “right” to feel that immigration levels have increased too rapidly, reports Newstalk.
Mr. Varadkar declared on Lunchtime Live that he “absolutely stands over” the remarks.
While he acknowledged that immigration “makes our country a more interesting place” and is “good for our economy,” he expressed his desire to see less of it in the coming years.
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“What I said, which I absolutely stand over, is all the research about public opinion shows that most people think immigration is a good thing for Ireland – and I think that too. It shows that most people think that the numbers in recent years have been too great, that a country of five million people dealing with an extra hundred thousand people a year every year is too much – it’s a struggle,” reports Newstalk.
“What I also said – which wasn’t reported – is that some people – a lot of people – think that it’s a tap that the Government can turn up or turn down or regulate and that’s not true. That’s not how the world works now,” reports Newstalk.
When Mr. Varadkar was Taoiseach, he said that people had the “illusion” that he could regulate the amount of immigrants that came to Ireland and frequently held him accountable for the large number of individuals who were applying for international protection.
“One thing I would have faced a lot as Taoiseach is, ‘You’re bringing all these asylum seekers into the country’ – as if I was handing out brochures in Kabul or Syria. Of course I wasn’t – but that’s what some people think,” reports Newstalk.
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