{"id":619493,"date":"2026-09-09T17:08:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T17:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/619493\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T17:08:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T17:08:13","slug":"sinn-fein-immigration-stance-very-clear-mcdonald-insists-as-coalition-seeks-to-tighten-rules-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/619493\/","title":{"rendered":"Sinn F\u00e9in immigration stance \u2018very clear\u2019, McDonald insists, as Coalition seeks to tighten rules \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cStretches and strains\u201d in the public service and \u201cparticular issues around housing\u201d must be considered when it comes to how many work permits are issued to foreign workers, Sinn F\u00e9in<\/a> leader Mary Lou McDonald<\/a> has said.<\/p>\n

The remarks come as her party\u2019s immigration<\/a> policy faces scrutiny after a book by a former Sinn F\u00e9in insider detailed its difficulty in forming a position on the issue. <\/p>\n

An extract from Ourselves Alone: Sinn F\u00e9in Behind Closed Doors by former party press officer Siobh\u00e1n Fenton was published in the Sunday Independent last weekend. Fenton wrote that in meetings \u201cSinn F\u00e9in\u2019s politicians described feeling deeply uncomfortable about not listening to working-class communities but also uncomfortable about siding with anti-migrant rhetoric\u201d. She described it as \u201ca circle the party couldn\u2019t square\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking to reporters in advance of Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s pre-D\u00e1il think-in meeting in Malahide, Dublin<\/a> on Wednesday, McDonald said she did not recognise Fenton\u2019s portrayal of her party\u2019s indecision on the issue. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that at a point in time our communities reflected to us that they weren\u2019t hearing loudly enough from us in challenging the Government in their failures to manage the process of asylum seeking and the consequences of that process for the communities in which they live.\u201d <\/p>\n

McDonald added that \u201ca number of years ago … we collectively, and I personally, accepted that that was the case\u201d but \u201csince then we have been very, very clear in setting out what we believe are the parameters, the values and the framework for making this actually work correctly\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said \u201cat the heart of this, is the question of respect \u2013 respect for communities themselves, respect for their experiences … respect also for those who seek refuge and asylum, respect for the system, for the rules and regulations and for their application\u201d.<\/p>\n

It was earlier put to McDonald that the Government wants to see a reduction<\/a> in immigration and she was asked if she agreed with that position. She said Sinn F\u00e9in wants to see a system \u201cbased on clear, transparent rules that are resourced, that are enforced\u201d whether people are coming to Ireland on student visas or work permits or seeking international protection.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Mary Lou McDonald claims immigration abuse aimed at Sinn F\u00e9in driven by people \u2018who want FF and FG to remain in power\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

McDonald also said the system should take community and societal needs into account, giving the example of the agriculture sector finding it difficult to get workers over the summer. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou also have to be aware of the stretches and strains on public services,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s a particular issue around housing in Ireland and getting accommodation so any responsible Government has to have in their line of sight all of those matters when they calculate how many permits in any particular sector might be allowable, how you manage student visas and the whole range of other elements of that policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MaryMary Lou McDonald attends the Sinn Fein annual away day at the Grand Hotel, Malahide, near Dublin, ahead of the new Dail session. Photo: Clodagh Kilcoyne\/PA Wire <\/p>\n

Asked if she wanted to see the number of work permits and student visas come down, she said it needs to be \u201cdictated by need\u201d, pointing out that workers from the European Union<\/a> have the freedom to live and work in Ireland. <\/p>\n

In advance of the think-in, Sinn F\u00e9in also outlined plans to ramp up pressure on the Government over the cost-of-living<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The party will table legislation in the D\u00e1il to temporarily abolish carbon tax<\/a> on home heating oil. An increase to the rate, planned for May, was deferred by the Coalition until October due to the sharp rise in fuel prices caused by the war in Iran<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Sinn F\u00e9in finance spokesman Pearse Doherty<\/a> said the proposals would see carbon tax on the fuel abolished for an emergency period of six months \u2013 with an option to reduce or extend this \u2013 at a cost of \u20ac20 million per month. At the point that the emergency is deemed to be over, he said the carbon tax would be restored on home heating oil but not increased. <\/p>\n

Sinn F\u00e9in also highlighted its budget<\/a> proposals to bring in \u20ac10-per-day childcare and to remove the Universal Social Charge on income up to \u20ac40,000 as part of a more than \u20ac1.5 billion income tax package.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorkers and families were really disappointed and really left out in last year\u2019s budget,\u201d Doherty said. <\/p>\n

He said \u201cthere is huge pressure on people with the cost of living\u201d and there needs to be \u201can acknowledgment from Government that they did wrong last year, that they need to fix that now and it can\u2019t be tinkering, it has to be real\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cStretches and strains\u201d in the public service and \u201cparticular issues around housing\u201d must be considered when it comes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":619494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5168,121361,943,5148,61,1629,11829,60,3658,43,19383,3415],"class_list":["post-619493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-budget","tag-carbon-tax","tag-cost-of-living","tag-european-union","tag-ie","tag-immigration","tag-iran","tag-ireland","tag-mary-lou-mcdonald","tag-news","tag-pearse-doherty","tag-sinn-fein"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}