SIGN THE PETITION

Introduction

What is an Ordinary Referendum? When the government wishes to introduce a law of national importance, the Seanad and the Dáil can petition the president to hold a referendum.

Petition for an Ordinary Referendum on Immigration and Asylum in Ireland

The demographic change to our country in recent years has been startling to say the least. Whilst sensible immigration of vetted peoples is reasonable, were the downsides like safety, social cohesion and economic strain ever discussed with the people of Ireland?

Was our opinion on immigration ever sought?

We at Ireland-First.ie would like to petition the sitting government to finally ask Irish citizens their opinion on mass immigration and asylum applications from safe countries of origin.

Would you like to see a referendum on immigration into Ireland?

Please sign the petition for the following:

Asylum cases to be heard within 90 days, limited to one appeal to be heard within 30 days. Appeals limited to strict criteria. The onus is on government to staff effectively, so cases are heard through the courts in the appropriate timeframe. Asylum seekers, if unvetted, should be housed humanely, centrally, in one area, and monitored while going through the asylum application process.
Length of time for refugees to be supported not to exceed 2.5 years.
All communities should be consulted via town hall by locally elected representatives of any plans for their communities that are bound to impact of their way of life (safety, amenities etc.).
Anyone who enters Ireland illegally should be immediately deported.
No refugee or asylum seeker should have the right to vote in local or national elections.
Asylum applications from safe countries of origin should not be accepted [A country is considered as a safe country of origin where, on the basis of the legal situation, the application of the law within a democratic system and the general political circumstances, it can be shown that there is generally and consistently no persecution as defined in Article 9 of Directive 2011/95/EU, no torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and no threat by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict.]

Important:

This has nothing to do with prejudice: this is purely about protecting and preserving the culture and heritage of Ireland. As is obvious currently, we simply do not have the resources.

As humans, we should strive to assist all peoples in need, regardless of race, creed, or colour – however, this cannot be to the detriment of Ireland or its’ people.

Definitions:

Definition: An asylum seeker is someone who claims to be a refugee but whose claim hasn't been evaluated.

Definition: Refugees are people fleeing armed conflicts or persecution.

Definition: Migrants choose to move not because of a direct threat or persecution

Further notes:

Asylum seekers:

The disclosed number of asylum seekers in 2022 is 10,000 up to September alone. Recently we have seen clusters arriving from countries (not Ukraine) and planted/housed in local communities countrywide. The vast majority, as reported by on the ground locals, are men between 20 years old and 50 years old.

Are these men vetted? Where are they from? Who are they? How long are they here for? Why are they really here? What reasons were given for asylum seeker status? What is the process?

In addition, and more alarmingly, over 90% of asylum cases are denied. Those denied are never deported … they are told to self-deport … this is unacceptable.

Standard immigration:

For those immigrating to Ireland for work, relationships etc., there should be no access to social services/benefits (funded by the taxpayer) until a certain amount of contributions have been paid.

Right to apply for citizenship should be increased from 3 to 5 years.

Displaced persons (refugees fleeing war):

The EU passed a directive, to be adopted by all members of the EU, which stated basically that planning permission laws can be bypassed to build new homes or repurpose existing buildings for ‘displaced’ peoples.

However, this directive did not say that local communities should not be consulted or aware of the impending changes on their doorstep. This was the choice of action by the current sitting government in Dublin.

Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein all say there should be no capping on ‘new arrivals’ into Ireland … all this, when we have 11,000 homeless (including 3,000 children) and over 100,000 Irish ‘couch surfing’ who cannot be classed as homeless as they technically have roofs over their heads.

There are currently approximately 60,000 Ukrainian refugees alone housed in Ireland, with a further 10,000 other asylum seekers this year up to September 2022.

Minister O’Brien has signed the European Union (Planning and Development) (Displaced Persons from Ukraine Temporary Protection) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 306 of 2022).

The regulations, which came into effect on 23 June 2022, provide that certain classes of temporary development, including residential accommodation, undertaken by or on behalf of a State authority, to provide protection to displaced persons from Ukraine, will be exempt from the provisions of the Planning and Development Act (other than environmental considerations).

The specified development classes will not require planning permission for the period that the regulations are in place and will not be subject to the various restrictions that would normally apply to classes of exempted development.

The duration of the Regulations is linked to the duration of temporary protection provided by European Council Implementing Decision EU 2022/382 of 4 March 2022.