Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said he has “no problem with people who come here through the visa and asylum systems” after he was criticised for making “vile and odious” comments on immigration in a video circulating on social media.<\/p>\n
Mr Ahern is recorded in the video as saying, in a conversation, that he has concerns about the level of immigration and that Ireland “can’t be taking in people” coming from “the Congo”, as well as the next generation of Muslims in Ireland.<\/p>\n
He does go on to say that Ireland should be accepting of people coming from Ukraine however, following the war there.<\/p>\n
It was filmed while Mr Ahern joined Fianna F\u00e1il\u2019s Dublin Central bye-election candidate John Stephens was canvassing in the constituency.<\/p>\n
Mr Ahern told RT\u00c9 News that the video was recorded without his knowledge and added it was recorded “around nine or ten days ago”.<\/p>\n
He also said the footage circulating online was part of a longer conversation.<\/p>\n
“I support Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan’s policies on immigration, let there be no doubt about,” Mr Ahern said.<\/p>\n
“I have said in the past the asylum process should be quicker, but I do acknowledge it has speeded up a bit in recent times,” he added.<\/p>\n
“I have no problem with people who come here through the visa and asylum systems,” he said and added that many African people had gone through the system successfully, live and work in his local area.<\/p>\n
Watch: Ahern comments ‘not appropriate’, says Taoiseach<\/b><\/p>\n
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Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin has said that views on immigration expressed Mr Ahern do not represent the views of Fianna F\u00e1il or their candidate in Dublin Central.<\/p>\n
Mr Martin said that Mr Ahern\u2019s comments in the video were “not appropriate”.<\/p>\n
“I think it\u2019s not appropriate, in my view, to be specific about any given ethnicity. And that’s not, in my view, correct or proper,” he said.<\/p>\n
He added: “We have to respect people with many different ethnicities in Ireland, many Irish citizens with different ethnic backgrounds, and that has to be respected.”<\/p>\n
The Taoiseach also said that Ireland has a “fair and robust” asylum system, pointing to reforms brought in by Minister for Justice Jim O\u2019Callaghan towards an “efficient and accelerated process”.<\/p>\n
He said asylum cases and appeals are now dealt with in a timely manner, adding that “quite a number” of applications do not achieve asylum status.<\/p>\n
“I think one of the big problems in the past was that the process went on for years, and it went on too long. And I think we now have that.<\/p>\n
“We have a broader migration story where people work, come into work in our health service through work permits or through the European Union, and are very, very valuable part of our economic life and of our healthcare system, and indeed our caring system as well,” he added.<\/p>\n
Ahern comments were ‘vile and odious’<\/b><\/p>\n
Some of the candidates in the Dublin Central bye-election have been reacting to comments made by Mr Ahern.<\/p>\n
People Before Profit’s Eoghan \u00d3 Ceannabh\u00e1in said condemned what he called Mr Ahern’s “vile and odious comments”.<\/p>\n
Labour Party candidate Ruth O’Dea said: “The comments are not only harmful, but hurtful to the people who live in the constituency he once represented. They are untrue and ill-informed”.<\/p>\n
The Green Party’s Janet Horner said the comments were “yet another shameful example during this bye-election campaign of punching down on migrants”.<\/p>\n
Independent candidate Malachy Steenson said he is fully in agreement with comments made by Mr Ahern and “that it was about time the political class woke up to the problem of illegal immigration”. <\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Independent candidate Gerard Hutch said illegal immigrants who were “mooching” their way into the country should be interned at the Curragh Camp in Kildare.<\/p>\n