The Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, has warned on Wednesday «not to fall into the racist game» of the far right, which he accused of using the refugee crisis to turn them against Irish society.
«Racists and the far right will blame immigrants for any problem facing the country. That’s how they operate. That’s how they think,» he said Wednesday in Dáil Éireann, the Irish Assembly.
Varadkar’s words are a response to criticism launched by Solidarity party deputy Mick Barry, who has reproached the Irish government for having «given the racists the best gift» by not knowing how to manage the housing crisis in the country.
Barry, who represents a group of various left-wing forces, has pointed out that the Government’s impetus to house Ukrainian refugees contrasts with the «lack of effort» to solve the housing problem. «You are opening the door to the racist messages of the extreme right,» he has said.
Barry’s assessments come after several rallies have been taking place in recent weeks in places like Waterford, Cork and other areas of Dublin, the capital, where accommodation has been provided for people fleeing their countries for different issues.
Varadkar has acknowledged that there is a crisis in this regard, but that if «now it is housing, it could be employment, or crime», the arguments that could be used by the far right to blame the foreigner for the bad in the country, so he has asked Barry to the rest of deputies «not to fall into their game».
«I know you mean well and that you are fervently anti-racist and internationalist, so of course I accept that, but I just ask you not to unwittingly play into their game,» he has replied to Barry.
«Don’t make excuses for them. No matter what problem a country is facing, the far right and the racists will blame immigrants. They will always try to blame the other for any problem that affects a country at any given time,» he has said.
Varadkar, who has described himself as a person of «color» and «interracial» because of his Indian origins, has promised a new national plan to fight racism starting in March, including funds for new policies on integration and combating hate speech and xenophobia.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
