Michael Healy-Rae condemned over immigration criticisms while receiving €650,000 for housing Ukrainian refugees

Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae has been criticised for his condemnation of Government spending on immigration policies after he received €650,000 from the State to accommodate Ukrainian refugees.

During a Dáil debate on the EU’s Migration and Asylum Pact, Labour Party TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said he found it “frankly hilarious” to hear Mr Healy-Rae complain about the millions of euros the State is spending on immigration when he personally gained €650,000 for housing Ukrainian refugees.

The Labour TD also noted Mr Healy-Rae did not reference the State funding he received before he made a contribution during the debate on a Dáil motion from the Rural Independent grouping.

The motion called for a referendum on the migration pact because the grouping believes it to be a “serious violation of our national sovereignty”.

“The decision about who we want to accept would be made neither by Irish authorities nor by Irish law, but rather by non-elected people in EU headquarters,” the motion said.

Speaking during the debate, Mr Healy-Rae said the Government was “failing dramatically” in its job to tackle immigration. “Any time that money, be it millions, or in this case billions of ruro, is being spent, our job as legislators is to question that,” he said.

“How dare people here criticise members of the Rural Independent Group and say that there is something wrong with us because we bring a very well thought-out and considered voicing of our concerns,” he added.

Rural Independent TD Mattie McGrath suggested during his Dáil speech that the Government could introduce legislation to delay forthcoming elections.

Mr Ó Ríordáin also said he was also disappointed by Sinn Féin’s shift to the right on immigration because they “previously presented themselves to the Irish people as a party of the left”.

“What they have done or attempted to do in this parliament, is to go to the right of government when it came to support for Ukrainian refugees to change their view on hate crime legislation at a whim,” he said.

He said Sinn Féin’s comments on the EU Immigration and Asylum Pact was coming from “the far-right playbook”.

“I think everyone in this house needs to reflect on what type of road they want to walk Irish politics down over the next number of years because if the atmosphere and the tension and the anger and the violence I have witnessed over the last number of months is anything to go by, we’re entering a very, very dark chapter in Irish politics,” he said.

In her contribution, Sinn Féin’s Rose Conway Walsh described the pact as “nothing more than a cynical political fix designed to help political parties across the continent ahead of the European elections so they can say they are doing something”.

“Co-operation with EU member states is important but people want decisions on asylum made by the government that they elect. The EU pact does not mean anything to communities that see more and more of their hotels become unavailable for tourist accommodation or to people who have seen the neglect of services and resources in their towns,” she said.

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