A migrant rights organisation has called on the Government to “forcibly” make the point that people of all nationalities commit crime. 

Earlier this week in New York City, Taoiseach Micheál Martin appeared on Fox News, where he was quizzed about his views on migration. 

The Fianna Fáil President said Ireland is “not overrun in any shape or form”, while conceding that the Republic’s asylum process is slow. 

When asked about the issue of migrant crime, Mr Martin noted that people of all nationalities break the law. He added that he had would have “no issue” with crime statistics including offenders’ citizenship. 

On The Hard Shoulder, Doras CEO John Lannon said the Taoiseach’s remarks were generally “encouraging” . 

“[What is] really important is that we put debates and discussions around migration in perspective,” he argued. 

“And to acknowledge how essential migration is today to keeping the public services and the economy here in Ireland going.”

An Irish Citizenship Ceremony. Picture by: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie.

Mr Lannon warned that the issue of crime should be separated from migration, adding that society needs to be “really careful” when it debates these matters. 

“I mean, Micheál Martin himself made the point that crime is not specific to any nationality,” he said. 

“Although I do think at that point it needs to be made more forcibly by Government.

“There was a 2025 report that was published by the Department of Justice and it was called An Evidence Review on Ethnic Monitoring in the Criminal Justice System. 

“It pointed out that publishing data on minority ethnic groups' involvement with criminal justice systems could be interpreted negatively by the wider society and could result in stigmatisation of minorities.”

Mr Lannon added that crime across Europe has fallen in recent years, amid continued migration between countries and continents. 

“We've got to be clear that research conducted over decades right across Europe indicates that immigration inflows do not drive up crime rates,” he said. 

“Now, what does drive up crime rates is socio-economic factors.

“We see variations in crime rates that are largely driven by structural factors such as poverty, lack of future prospects, social exclusion, rather than nationality or immigration.”

Main image: Gardaí. Picture by: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie.