Migration and Citizenship: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-30
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Pádraig Rice (SD), Cork South-Central

I normally do not contribute to these debates on justice and migration but I have come to speak on this issue because I am deeply concerned about the direction of the policies the Minister of State and the Government are taking. They have lost their way and it is deeply concerning. I am also deeply concerned about the anti-migrant rhetoric we hear on different sides of the House from national leaders. Migrants who come to Ireland make an extraordinary contribution to our society in so many ways.
It is important for us to remember that the story of Ireland is in many ways a story of migration. For thousands of years people have come and moved to this island in different waves of migration. In century after century, people have come and have lived here to make a better life. All of us, if we look at our ancestors and trace it back, have migrated from somewhere to be here. In many ways, the story of Ireland is a story of migration and of leaving this island to live elsewhere. I grew up in the west of Ireland and like many other families from there, generation after generation, people left and migrated to make better lives elsewhere. My great-grandparents went to New York back in the 1920s; I have grand-uncles and grand-aunts all around the world; my uncle lives in Canada; I have an aunty in London; my siblings went to Australia during the financial crash; and I lived in the UK. Many other families across Ireland have that experience of migration, of moving from here, seeking a better life and establishing themselves in other countries. We cannot forget that and how crucial that story is to our national identity and to who we are. I urge the Government to rethink its strategy and its approach to migration.
I was talking to two men in my constituency who moved here from Orbán's Hungary. They moved here to make a better life in Ireland and did all of the things they were told to do. They got really good jobs and paid lots of taxes. They bought a house. They pay their property tax and their TV licence. They contribute to the local society. They got involved in clubs and societies. They made friends and they learned the language. They came here with good English but they learned even more. They feel like they have done everything right. They have done everything they were told to do, but suddenly the Government is pulling the rug from under them. They came here four and a half years ago. They were looking forward to applying for citizenship in January. Now, they feel like they are not welcome because of the policies that are pursued by the Minister of State and the Government.
I urge the Minister of State to rethink the strategy. He should rethink the message we are sending to the people who have come to this country and who have made an extraordinary contribution to Irish life. What message is being sent to them? What they are hearing from the Minister of State and his pronouncements is that they are not welcome here, and that is wrong. It is particularly wrong, given our history of migration and given that we have left this island in our millions. We need to rethink this plan and this strategy because the Minister of State has got it wrong.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-30