Irish anti-immigration protests
group of protests across Ireland
Protests at several locations in Ireland started in early November 2022 after the development of sites in various parts of the country as asylum seeker shelters by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), as it attempted to accommodate the influx of 65,000 asylum seekers during 2022. Protests were held in East Wall, Ballymun, Drimnagh and elsewhere in Dublin; Fermoy and Mallow in County Cork; Kill, County Kildare; Lismore, County Waterford; Mullingar, County Westmeath; Inch, County Clare; and Rosslare Harbour, County Wexford.
The protests, which the Garda Síochána say numbered 307 in 2022 and at least a further 169 as of August 2023, raised concerns over the lack of provision of prior information to local residents and concerns around the impact that local population growth, due to accommodating asylum seekers, had on facilities and housing. Protesters have questioned the lack of women and children in some accommodation centres where there have been a high proportion of single males. Some protesters have also been influenced by rumours purporting asylum seekers carrying out violent or threatening acts that have been shown to be often baseless. Additionally, Gardaí stated in March 2023 that there has not been an increase in crime as a result of international protection applicants nor a need for increased presence near the shelters. Garda Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis reported that both attendance and frequency of protests "appeared to reach a peak" in March 2023.
The presence of anti-immigrant protesters, members of far-right groups and violent criminals at these protests has been highlighted online and in the mainstream media, and 17 people have been arrested at the protests in 2023 as of August. Some far-right protesters have been labelled as "hijackers" of the protests' true purpose and some demonstrations have been described as misrepresentative of local sentiment. Politicians have commented on the protests including Leo Varadkar (the Taoiseach at the time) who said said locals cannot veto "the kind of people who get to live in their area", and the topic has been raised in Seanad Éireann and in a joint committee with Dáil Éireann.
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