How long will Messrs Roche, McDowell, de Rossa and Begg resist the pressure to join the "racists"?

national | eu | opinion/analysis

Friday February 06, 2004 12:59

by Anthony Coughlan - National Platform

Press statement from Anthony Coughlan, Secretary, The National Platform

.

During the lead-up to the second Nice referendum in October 2002 Messrs
Dick Roche, Michael McDowell, Proinsias de Rossa and David Begg implied
that Anthony Coughlan of the National Platform and Justin Barrett of the
No-to-Nice Campaign were stirring up racism and anti-immigrant sentiment
by pointing to the problems that would arise for the Irish labour market
and social service system if most EU countries imposed restrictions on
East European migrants from 1 May next, but Ireland and some others did
not.

Now that Ireland is the only EU country to offer an open door to whatever
proportion of our 75 million fellow EU citizens might choose to migrate
here from 1 May, the public will watch with interest to see how long Messrs
Roche, McDowell, de Rossa and Begg will resist the pressures that will be
on them to join the presumably "racist" EU Governments that have decided to
derogate from the EU treaties and maintain migration controls for up to
seven years!

The policy of the National Platform and the No-to-Nice campaign on EU
migration was cynically misrepresented by these gentlemen and others during
the 2002 Nice referendum. On one occasion RTE's Morning Ireland gave Mr
Dick Roche TD virtual carte blanche to spew out slander and lies on the
matter.

The position of the two organisations mentioned was that all EU Member
States should follow the same policy as regards East European migrants.
Preferably they should all be made welcome from Day One of their accession,
or, failing that, on some agreed date thereafter, when all EU borders would
be opened simultaneously; but the organisations pointed out that the
Government's policy of extending Irish citizens' rights of work, domicile
and social maintenance to East European migrants when all other EU States
were not doing so, was manifestly foolish, and would cause Ireland problems
and embarrassment in time, as now looks like happening.

In June 2001 Foreign Minister Brian Cowen wrote an unsolicited letter on
behalf of the Irish Government to his East European counterparts,
including Romania and Bulgaria, stating that their migrating citizens would
be welcome to Ireland from Day One of their Accession to the EU,
irrespective of what other EU governments did. The text of this letter has
never been disclosed. What exact commitment did Minister Cowen give on
behalf of the Irish Government and people, for the matter was never
discussed or authorised by the Dail?

Last week Poland's Prime Minister Leszek Millar congratulated the
Government on its continued "open door" policy during his visit to Dublin.
How can the Irish Government now possibly change its position without
insulting our new East European "partners" or else making itself and the
Irish people look ridiculous, for no other EU State seems to have given
such a written, unsolicited commitment.

It seems now virtually inevitable that the Government will do a policy
U-turn and fall in line with the rest of the EU in imposing migration
controls on East European EU citizens - the only question being when, and
what degree of cynicism, lies and Ministerial spoofery will accompany it.

Two issues look like determining the timing of this U-turn:

Currently Messrs Ahern, Cowen and Roche, in their EU Presidency guise, are
fronting for Germany and France in seeking to inveigle and   bully Poland
into abandoning the voting system for making EU laws that was the basis on
which Poland and the other Applicant countries joined the EU - and which
Messrs Ahern, Cowen, Roche and their allies championed as the best system
for EU lawmaking in Ireland's two Nice Treaty referendums.

It would be easier for Prime Minister Millar's Government to abandon
Polish interests vis-à-vis Germany in a deal mediated through Ireland -
with Iveagh House advancing itself in novel guise as champion of
nationalist and Catholic Ireland, true kin to the Poles! - and thereafter
sell such a deal to a sceptical Polish public, than to be seen to submit to
direct bullying by Germany and France.

Such trickery and vicarious bullying by the Irish EU Presidency might
however be harder to succeed were Ireland to renege at this sensitive
moment on the "open door" comitment Foreign Minister Cowen gave to Poland
and the other East Europeans in his June 2001 1etter.

A second relevant factor is that Iveagh House does not want to spoil the
public relations jamboree it is planning for 1st May next, when the Irish
Presidency acts as EU host to the 10 Accession countries. Slamming the door
on East European migrants while holding a party in Dublin to welcome them
symbolically into the EU might seem just too hypocritical for some.

Doubtless some in Iveagh House will be counselling holding the party on May
1st and then imposing the migration controls on the East Europeans on May
2nd or soon thereafter.   Others will be saying, impose the migration
controls now (We can blame them on the Brits, although Minister Cowen's
"open door" letter seems to have been written on the assumption that the
UK was maintaining   controls) - and get the bad news out of the way as
long as possible before our "welcome" for our new partners on 1 May.

It can be assumed that these considerations will be governing current
Irish foreign policy on this matter.

Anthony Coughlan

Secretary

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Comments (4 of 4)

a hundred thousand welcomes?

by Failte

Fri Feb 06, 2004 13:48

It is obvious by mr Coughlin's tone that he doesn't want our borders open. Why? Or if I am misrepresenting his views, could he please explain them. Personally, I want an Ireland that welcomes economic refugees and the more the merrier! We are alleged to have had a population of over 8 million before the famine I am informed that we currently have four so there's room for plenty more people in Ireland.

I wonder if Antony beliefs have transformed from National pride (good) to National chauvinism (bad)?

But Anthony

by Real Anti EU

Fri Feb 06, 2004 17:24

Justin Barrett is a racist with fascist tendencies. Are you really trying to deny that? Or are you trying to become more like him?

So now we are to follow the EU

by BigMac

Fri Feb 06, 2004 17:35

Coughlin's line with this issue shows how inconsistent the man it.

After spending decades calling for Ireland not to follow the example of other EU states, he now seems to advocate that Ireland row in behind the others and bring in border controls.

And he still ignores the fact that most people who may have otherwise supported him and his anti-Nice campaign found his association with Barrett repulsive and still do. Coughlin has never come out with a statement condeming Barretts participation at a rally organised by the far right NPD in Germany.

Trendy lefties lose the plot

by Felim

Thu Feb 12, 2004 21:58

The comments on Anthony Coughlan's comment about the open door policy are depressingly typical of Ireland's so-called lefties. Given the choice between the ordinary workers of Ireland and a trendy middle class liberalism, the workers are shafted every time.
I have problems with Coughlan's position and especially with the way they are presented by Barrett but I refuse to jump into bed with the Irish Times ' liberals' with a kneejerk rejectionism.
Commentators who welcome a return to the Ireland of the 1850s, with 8 million people and mass starvation suggest not only a severe shortage of brain matter but help to explain the astonishing inability of the Irish left to attract serious votes from the plain punters.
Perhaps the commentators will pause for a moment and rflect on the fact that their enthusiasm for sudden massive inward migration is shared by two other organised groups: the PDs and IBEC. The enthusiasm of these extreme right-wing organisations is very rational: a massive influx of cheap, compliant labour will not only help to depress wages but if it is large enough it will help them in their campaign to crush organised labour.

I am not speculating; this is 100% certainly their plan and it is highly do-able. The US right-wing elite have pushed open immigration for most of the last century for that very reason and have succceeeded in all of the above objectiives.

This does not mean that we should be anti-immigrant. I would suggest however that the left in Ireland should take a socialist position, not a free market liberal one.

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How long will Messrs Roche, McDowell, de Rossa and Begg resist the pressure to join the "racists"?

Comments (4 of 4)