Anti-immigration protestors believe things that are “not true”, Shane Coleman has said. 

Over the past few months, immigration has shot up the political agenda with protests held in a number of towns where housing has been allocated for asylum seekers. 

Earlier this month, a pub in Dublin that was meant to be used to house the homeless was burnt to the ground after false rumours spread that asylum seekers were about to move it. 

Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, Shane said he was dismayed by many of the things he has heard in recent months. 

“A narrative is taking hold - it’s not a narrative I agree with - [that] the country’s full," he said.

"Asylum seekers are taking housing from Irish people - not true, but it is taking hold.

“Unvetted men are coming here with a clear implication that they’re a danger to women and children. 

“They’re all the things, unpalatable as they are, that are being said.” 

'Their own fault'

Co-presenter Ciara Kelly said the Government is “playing catchup” on the issue of immigration and has for a long time failed to engage with people’s concerns. 

“It’s partly their own fault,” she said. 

“I think for a long time, people were told, ‘Ireland is open, Ireland is welcoming, we are the céad míle fáilte, everyone wants this.’

“Even when people didn’t necessarily want it to the same extent… and anyone who disagreed with it were told they were part of a lunatic fringe [called] ‘the far right’. 

“Unless the far-right has a foothold in every town and village in Ireland, it would appear that it’s far more than the far-right that has concerns about immigration.

“To tar everyone with this bogeyman, strawman argument that everyone who disagrees with it as the ‘far-right’ is just nonsensical. 

“In my humble opinion, the liberal progressive agenda has fallen into the habit of just believing its own hype that everyone thinks the same.” 

Shane disagreed and said TDs were aware of their constituents concerns but that Government immigration policy is a reflection of “the fact that we have obligations we have to fulfil when it comes to asylum seekers.”

Main image: Shane Coleman. 8th January 2024. Image: Newstalk