Irish Government is obsessed with Brexit Britain despite the risks this brings

There is a British connection to Ireland’s refugee accommodation problem, although it is not fear of being deported to Rwanda, as Taoiseach Micheál Martin claimed last week.

Ireland made its open-door offer to Ukrainian refugees as part of its self-image as a progressive European nation, an image it has tended to define against Britain, especially since Brexit.

When the Republic threw open its doors in March, pious comparisons were made — including by Government figures — with the UK’s draconian visa requirements.

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London took umbrage: there were anonymous briefings of a security threat to Britain via the Common Travel Area, which Ministers in Dublin had to dismiss.

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Of course, the UK has begun defining itself against the EU post-Brexit, notably on its military support for Ukraine.

So Ireland’s refugee policy was competitively framed from the outset. This appears to have provoked a reflexive outburst against Britain as demand for accommodation outstripped supply.

The UK’s Rwanda policy is “wrong” and “shocking”, the Taoiseach added. Ironically, it was copied from Denmark, the usual ideal of a progressive European nation.

There is no evidence asylum seekers are being diverted from the UK to Ireland. Martin’s claim, which he admitted was based on anecdote and intuition, has been denied by the Dublin office of the UNHCR.

Numbers entering the State have risen but only back to the pre-pandemic trend. The same is true in the UK. The Taoiseach is fortunate the British government is in too much disarray to laud his claim from the rooftops. Nobody in the UK thinks the Rwanda policy is working: migrant channel crossings have doubled this year.

The Irish public does not believe it either. There was obvious scepticism at blaming Britain for the accommodation shortfall, making this an instance of unpopular populism: nationalist begrudgery from the top that fell on stony ground.

It is striking to see Martin, normally a conciliatory figure, resort to such finger-pointing. Attitudes to Britain across the rest of Government can only be worse, as another immigration policy suggests.

Offering Irish-Americans visas to retire in Ireland was a 2018 proposal developed by Fine Gael Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan and his successor, Simon Coveney.

It was intended to be a quid pro quo for more US working visas for Ireland, until that was blocked by Congress.

Social effects

In February this year, Flanagan proposed reviving it unilaterally, as its advantages in strengthening cultural and economic ties justify themselves.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar officially unveiled the scheme last weekend in an online address to an Ancient Order of Hibernians conference in Pittsburgh.

This is a huge policy announcement for Ireland, with potentially significant social impacts. The first question most people will have is if any planning has been done to provide American immigrants with accommodation. That question has also been raised previously in the press.

Few US pensioners retire abroad and almost none stray beyond North America but it is difficult to predict how much pent-up demand might be released once an accessible retirement option in Europe becomes available. It would not take many cash-rich retirees to impact rural and coastal housing markets, where most would want to live. One-third of Irish-Americans have told surveys they would be interested in any scheme to reside or buy property in Ireland.

The Government still has nothing to say on this question. However, Varadkar told the Pittsburgh conference: “Our friends and allies in Washington have stood behind us and have not faltered when it comes to protecting the Northern Ireland protocol and the Good Friday agreement. This vital relationship needs to remain strong.”

Introducing a policy so momentous as a thank you to Irish America for helping to stand up to Britain over Brexit reveals a complete disconnection between the fixations of the Government and the priorities of the population.

As taoiseach in 2019, Varadkar brought Irish America into play to dissuade the UK from flirting with a no-deal Brexit. It was a diplomatic triumph that continues to consume official efforts, as the UK threatens to disapply the protocol and seemingly abandons hopes for a US trade deal. American support has undoubtedly been welcomed across Ireland.

But none of it registered in the 2020 general election, nor has it in opinion polls since.

Varadkar fought the election on his Brexit record, yet fewer than 1 per cent of voters mentioned Brexit in the exit survey. Still, he fights on, as does the Coalition, on every chance to emphasise the issue, while its support plummets.

Anglophobia is the wrong term for this: the Government is suffering from Anglomania, an obsession with Brexit Britain. It is not shared by the public, or reciprocated in Britain, where the political establishment’s Euromania is similarly alienated from public concerns. A chasm is opening for real populists to exploit — and Ireland is not immune.