‘Can Ireland Not Do Any More?’

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Taoiseach Enda Kenny in Brussels this morning

In Brussels.

Several Irish journalists asked Taoiseach Enda Kenny questions as he arrived for a meeting between Turkey and the EU’s heads of states or government – to discuss the numbers of refugees reaching Europe.

It’s being reported that Turkey is now seeking €20billion in return for Turkey taking back all non-Syrian refugees from Europe.

In addition, Turkey wants faster accession talks and quicker visa-free travel for its citizens within Europe.

Readers may wish to note that Ireland’s naval service rescued more than 8,000 people from Italy-bound boats off the coast of Libya and haven’t been present in the Aegean Sea to date, where boats of refugees, leaving Turkey, are bound for the Greek islands.

Ann Cahill (Irish Examiner):Can Ireland not do any more? In terms of helping the situation. I mean we have very few of the EU’s first-time asylum-seekers last year and I know we’re taking some but could we not do more?

Enda Kenny: “The problem is not only on the Irish side, we’re actually not, as you know, part of the protocol, Ann, but the thing is that we’ve taken some from resettlement and relocation. We’re committed to taking 4,000 and we’re working towards that with the personnel that we have, from Ireland, coming to both Greece and to Italy and with the hotspots and the personnel working there.”

Cahill: “Can we not take more from Turkey?”

Kenny: “Well I think we should first of all be able to deal with what we’ve got with the commitment that we’ve entered into. I might say, I spoke this morning as well to the Minister for Defence [Simon Coveney], I expect that it’s our intention to send one of our vessels down to the Mediterranean again, in order to help with the situation there, in so far as humanitarian assistance is concerned whether that be as part of the formally, of the European response or on a bi-lateral basis will be worked out. But it’s our intention to send a further vessel down.”

Cahill: “And will they take people back to Turkey if…”

Kenny: “Well that has to be worked out in respect of sending them down first of all and in what role they’ll play there either as part of a formal European, humanitarian response or as a bi-lateral arrangement as we had before.”

Cahill: “And would you favour that, would you..”

Kenny: “I’m fully in support of the call and the intention of sending a further vessel down, they did rescue 8,000 people on the last occasion.”

Watch in full here

Previously: Cannon Fodder

Ireland And The Turkey Refugee Facility

‘We Can Bus The Refugees To Greece’

Choice Would Be A Fine Thing

Related: EU migration summit stalls as Turkey ups demands – live (The Guardian)

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43 thoughts on “‘Can Ireland Not Do Any More?’

  1. Murph Mikey

    we cant even home our own homeless people….never mind taking in others. Look after our own first, then offer help.

  2. dav

    What’s that muppet doing with a microphone in front of him, haven’t the blushirts learnt a thing??

  3. ahjayzis

    My impression is Irish governments tend to opt out of important stuff like this. It’s like asking the local shopkeeper what’s to be done – he couldn’t give a toss. I doubt he ever raises his voice other than to ask for more Hollandaise at these things. He’ll sit at Angela’s feet and wait for the big boys to sort it all out.

    1. dav

      well they wouldn’t have the intellectual capacity to deal with it, most of the time thy are just school teachers on career breaks etc..

  4. Twunt

    Why in the name of funk would or should we take more. This meeting is about returning existing and stopping more migrants. Not encouraging more.

    1. Jimmy 2 tones

      Cause it’s what we do. We already pay 75% of Europes banking debt scam so we might aswell continue on with our generosity. We also give the most money per person to charities around the world. Kenny will make sure though that non of them live anywhere near him & his pals.

  5. Funster Fionnanánn

    Country of 4.5 million who can’t afford to run hospitals sending ships we can seem to afford to help countries with more navy then we have hot meals.

    Odd little backward country.

    Broken even.

    1. ahjayzis

      We can well afford to run hospitals, build tens of thousands of homes, plenty of good things – we’re exceedingly wealthy as a state in the world.

      The fact that we don’t isn’t because we can’t.

      Also when we park the ships up they still cost money to run and staff ;o)

    2. Dόn 'The Unstoppable Force' Pídgéόní

      That’s about your elected government’s 1) priorities 2) political desire to solve the hospital problem 3) fear of raising taxes and 4) poor management of hospital budgets/poor recruitment.

      Naught to do with refugees

  6. 15 cents

    we shouldn’t be taking more. we do not have the infrastructure to facilitate so many extra people, and we don’t have a diverse enough culture for them to assimilate with our society either. Now people will shout ‘racist’ at those remarks, but theyre simply factual. Yes, it would be great to help more, but taking on 4000 is going to be hugely difficult as it is. But yea, i reckon Kenny will do whatever he’s told by the Brussels posse. He’ll give the anything they ask for without question. That’s been proven many times. I read recently in the paper, he was talking about Brexit, and said this, verbatim “it would be bad for ireland, bad for Britain, and most importantly, bad for Europe.” His alegiance clearly outlined there.

    1. ahjayzis

      So what do you propose Europe does with the people fleeing rape, oppression and murder?
      Do you not think as a civilised country we should help really the most desperate people in the world to stay safe?

      Honest question.

      It’s not being ‘strong’ to turn people in dire need away from your door, it’s the opposite. How many times in history have refugees been turned away only to be massacred? When do we learn?

        1. ahjayzis

          No.

          I can’t fit and treat A&E patients either though, so do we leave them to die on trolleys like we’re sentencing kids to die on Balkan roadsides?

          Can you accommodate any homeless in your gaf or do we ignore our humanitarian duty as a nation there too based on your floorspace?

          Seriously, bask in the warming glow of the grade-a idiocy and head-banging stupidity of your comment, man.

    2. Dόn 'The Unstoppable Force' Pídgéόní

      “we don’t have a diverse enough culture for them to assimilate with our society either”

      What does that even mean? How is that factual? I will need sources for that.

      1. 15 cents

        ahjayzis:
        Im not talking about Europe, Im talking about Ireland. And yes, it’s awful what happens to these people, the worst atrocities have been inflicted on them, but that doesnt change our capacity to help unfortunately. We can’t just take on an amount of people we can’t facilitate, even if they are in need. Eg. It was proposed that Monasterevin in kildare were to take on 4000, a town of about 2000 people, already tripling their population. It simply would not work. We cant take on people we have nowhere to put! create sprawling ghettos around the country would present not only a feast of new problems, but wouldnt solve the problems facing the refugees. Theres more room in Europe for them than here, and if we’re talking about taking responsibility, why not get up in arms about Arab countries not helping, or the countries that massively contributed to creating the problem, the US & Britain. instead of flooding our little tiny island with people we dont have the resources to help.

        Don:
        the country is largely a christian one, with a very western culture society. the small muslim community here very much stick to themselves. they dont create hassle or anything, but they dont mix in with the rest of soceity. so if we suddenly had thousands of them, how the hell is that guna work? you’ve seen some of what happens in germany too. but its not just that, theyve been reported to attack and spit at gay people and other stuff like that, in small amounts its manageable, but thousands of them just doesnt work.

        1. Dόn 'The Unstoppable Force' Pídgéόní

          That’s such bullpoo I’m not even sure where to start

          1. Original Cynic

            Why is this solely Europe’s problem? Where are the predominantly Moslem countries in the Middle East and SE Asia such as Malaysia, Indonesia in this “crisis”? Nowhere to be seen.

          2. ahjayzis

            It’s not for Europe to answer why other parts of the world aren’t pulling their weight – we have to ask if we are.

            When people were pouring OUT of Germany seventy years ago they were turned back and that is a stain on our collective history as a continent. We created protocols and rights to prevent it ever happening again. And now we could be letting it happen again.

            We’re the richest group of states in the world and we’re buying off a proto-dictator, turning a blind eye to his autocratisation of Turkey to fence in people who need our help.

          3. Dόn 'The Unstoppable Force' Pídgéόní

            Turkey and Jordan, both ‘Moslem’ countries already have huge numbers of refugees. So does Egypt. So does Iraq. Saudi isn’t a signatory on UN refugee protocols so they aren’t counted in the same way – but still have about 500k.

            Idiot.

        2. 15 cents

          yea, but we (Ireland) can only help so much .. we are a tiny nation with an infrastructure that at the moment just about takes care of middle class, and looks after wealthy, we can’t even cater for our own poor. so how can we be expected to heap thousands more people into that framework? homelessness is a massive problem here along with a barely operable health system. if we take a lot more refugees than we are taking, we just simply cannot care for them. we dont have the resources. it’ll be bad for them, and us. they’ll have no quality of life, which will cause social problems within their own community, as well as the community surrounding them. why arent people up in arms about the scandinavian countries? theyre taking very few in, yet people give out about us not takin in enough. the scando countries are far better equipped to do so, but instead people are shouting for us to take on more.. why not encourage the better equipped countries to carry more burden?

  7. Mickey Twopints

    Original Cynic, you do know that the tiny little country of Lebanon have taken in many tens of thousands, as have neighbours Jordan, Iraq, and Turkey. You do know that, yes?

    1. Original Cynic

      What about Moslem countries like Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei – still no answer!!!!!

      1. Mickey Twopints

        Your question: ” Where are the predominantly Moslem countries in the Middle East and SE Asia…”. I intentionally ignored your implication thgat this is a “Moslem problem”. You know that Syria was/is a secular society, right?

        1. Original Cynic

          Still doesn’t answer the question – where is the offer of even the minutest of help/refuge/asylum from ANY of these countries??????

          Apart from Saudi Arabia offering to millions to build Mosques in Germany, of course!

          1. Mickey Twopints

            Soz, I didn’t realise you’re hard of thinking. Get yourself an atlas, look at the location of Syria, then familiarise yourself with the adjacent countries of Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. Hint: all of these countries are in the Middle East, all of them have made enormous contributions towards the humanitarian crises.

          2. Original Cynic

            SAUDI ARABIA has more empty space and money than the rest combined. There are also such things as airplanes – people can actually board them and SAFELY fly half way round the World for far less than payments to people smugglers!

  8. Kieran NYC

    If he, as a lame duck Taoiseach, signed the country up to take a few thousand more refugees, you’d lambaste him for that too.

  9. Michael Donovan

    Could not help notice one of the comments about,,we can bus loads down to “Greece” yet we cant get frigging rural transport in any part of, Ireland.
    There ant no rural transport the yet Turkey wants 30 million HEHEHE.
    How about a right down on our national debt Eurpe after all weve paid 43% of Europes debt..
    And were required to do much more, im all for being charitable and all but hay,,look around Ireland all the empty homes that could provide housing to the destitute,its a frigging shambles now we are putting Covney as no 1 as possible leader ,, Hymmm leader of what ? who will only further go to insult the masses of homless irish by putting them out of there homes disgraceful we cant look in our own backyard and see the carnage created by shear bloody greed caused by two consecutive coalition goverments.

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