First of all, I favour a more sensible immigration policy and certainly don’t favour a liberal open door system of immigration, I do think that perhaps there needs to be a quota on numbers and some kind of points system in place and I believe that immigrants should have a basic standard of English. I would have concerns about integration and a failure to learn from the mistakes of UK & other EU states. I think there are positives to immigration as well as negatives that need addressing in a viable and sensible way; I think this is reasonable position & I dislike those who take an extreme right or ultra liberal view on immigration. Also if you disagree with our immigration system then blame those who control the system rather than directing your anger at immigrants. Last week as I entered the office where I work, a discussion was taking place on the economy and the main point was that immigrants should be sent home or removed from their jobs so Irish workers can have them. They said that they are not racist and have always been against the mass immigration of the last 10 or so years but when the economy was good I didn’t hear too many complaining, it seems all the rage now though. Everyone seemed to agree with what was said except me, I felt very uneasy at the language & tone being used, I voiced my disagreement & the reaction was quite hostile. It is not a good idea to disagree with the group think, they seem to take it personally, and I will keep my mouth closed in future. If you look at history, in times of economic downturn immigrants/ minorities have suffered victimisation, they are an easy and favoured scapegoat. I worry about what I hear and could imagine some moron making the leap from talk to violence. I think if immigrants were rounded up & sent home tomorrow, I think there would be many cheerleaders and a good deal of support for such a policy.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)

We need tighter controls on immigration, and the enforcement of all deportation orders without exception and with no involvement by the courts. The latter have been an utter nuisance in the way they have impeded deportation orders. We are one of the few Western countries that gives free legal-aid in the asylum-appeals system, and outside m,oney is coming in from so-called 'philantropic' foundations like Atlantic Philantropies to support these legal-challenges. I too am against racism but I am firmly of the belief that a condition of preventing racism in this country is an asylum-policy that is fair but firm and a legal-immigration policy based on the needs of the Irish people rather than those of the Galway Tent-brigade and their Dickensian employment policies. And I agree with you when you say we should condemn the policies rather than the immigrants themselves. The political-class in Leinster House is on another planet from the majority of the public on asylum. When the ICI, IRC or RAR say "jump", they say "how high". It's time they started to get tough instead of promoting an asylum system based on lining the pockets of the legal-profession using 'compassion' as a trojan-horse.

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Again Future Taoiseach, you have got it just right.

What immigration issue? Not many are coming here any more.

In fairness to our elected reps [did I just say that ?] any public representative who has dared to comment adversely on the number of immigrants here has been roundly savaged by the Irish Times and by letters from bleeding hearts published in that newspaper where over the past decade or so a succession of journalists have adopted the role of mouthpiece for the immigration industry here. Remember Ivor Callelly and his use of the word "swamped" ? Cue: uproar and public humiliation. If our govt is to "get tough" then it must first face down Madam and her merry band of internationalists.

Late last year the Indo was reporting that while around 140 Poles were leaving per day, 94 were still coming.

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Do they love hot and humid weather or something?

So that's a net emigration figure for the Poles then from Ireland. 2 or 3 years ago i would of agreed with you but right now there's no need to discuss restricting immigration when it will restrict itself.

What we are talking about, I think, are immigrants who did not come here to work, are not and never have been economically active here and who will therefore remain throughout the downturn while living on benefits.