Story of the Week
The heightened temperature of recent weeks on the refugee/asylum seeker issue was dialled down a few notches this week but there is no doubt that there has been a shift in policy since Christmas. This week the Government pushed on with the legislation that will slash the benefits for Ukrainian refugees who arrive in future – from €232 a week, to less than €40. And their guarantee of accommodation will no longer be open-ended but rather will elapse after three months. Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys said she expects to implement the changes in early February.
The Cabinet sub-committee on Ukraine was told on Thursday that there had been a big drop-off in the number of Ukrainians arriving and that they were now leaving State accommodation more quickly, easing the pressure on the Government to find space for them. Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman also told the Inside Politics podcast (the Rodcast?) on Wednesday that the State should help Ukrainians go home from next year on.
The situation for applicants for asylum from other countries (Ukrainians are granted asylum automatically) however, remains pretty grim; over 600 men are without accommodation, and at least some of them are sleeping on the streets, the Dail was told. There are all sorts of plans for swanky new reception and accommodation centres for asylum seekers, but sites for these are unlikely to be identified soon – as in, not before the local and European elections, would you believe. Sure you can’t rush these things.
Bust up
There were tense Dail exchanges again on Gaza, with opposition parties demanding that the Government join the South African case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. The UN court’s preliminary ruling today, that there is case to answer and Israel should take measures to presvent genocide, ramps that pressure up. Meanwhile the Opposition turns up the volume in its criticism of Israel, insisting that its assault on Gaza in response to attacks on Israel on October 7th is a “genocide”. Two motions were debated on the issue on Tuesday and Wednesday, and though the Government won both votes, there is a sense that the Irish line is hardening against Israel.
Not that this stops sparks flying. Tánaiste Micheál Martin was especially critical of Sinn Féin, accusing them in the Dáil of soft-pedalling on the issue to its important American audience. “There has been not a tweet from Friends of Sinn Féin in the United States on Palestine. You have not said a word in the United States . . . Not a word, because it would upset your friends and it would upset your donors!” he taunted the party during Tuesday’s Dail debate. Sinn Féin rejected requests from People Before Profit to boycott St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Washington in protest against US support for Israel. Ah no, the party responded. We will go there is search of peace. Let’s hope they find it.
Banana skin
Elon Musk, possibly the richest man in the world and definitely among its leading gobshites, warned the Irish Government that he might fund legal challenges against the forthcoming hate speech and hate crime legislation. In an interview with online news and comment site Gript.ie, Musk warned that the proposed laws would endanger freedom of speech and democracy.
Unease about the proposed laws goes beyond libertarian billionaires. Though curiously, the Department of Justice remains unable to say when the law will return to the Oireachtas for debate and, possibly, amendment. Could it be . . . a banana skin?
Winners
Winners this week were the unmarried widowers of Ireland. Tipperaryman John O’Meara, whose partner and mother of his three children died in 2021, was denied a widower’s pension and challenged the decision in the courts; this week he won in the Supreme Court, which ruled that the relevant law was unconstitutional. The Government will now have to change the law. The court however ruled on equality grounds, meaning it has no implications for the forthcoming family referendum. If the people want to change the definition of a family, the Chief Justice said, they can go away and do it. That’s not the court’s job.
Losers
Poor old RTE, again. A report on Toy Show the Musical laid bare an entertaining catalogue of poor oversight, hubris and management dysfunction. RTE continues to flagellate itself on all the things that went wrong; you’d wonder when they’re going to get around to figuring out what to do in the future. Meanwhile, the Government continues to ruminate on whether the public should pay for some of RTE, or all of it. If you missed it, don’t worry – there’s plenty more to come in the next few weeks.
Big read
Jack Horgan-Jones has a big read tomorrow on asylum and immigration. The scramble to house tens of thousands of people seeking protection here has bedevilled the Government for two years - but now there are signs it is splitting into two distinct challenges, with cause for optimism on the Ukrainian side - while the outlook for accommodating asylum seekers and the impact on social cohesion looks as dour as eve.
Hear here
Truffles or throuples? Hugh Linehan speaks to Minister Roderic O’Gorman about the family referendum in the Inside Politics podcast
Hugh Linehan: There’s a certain amount of hilarity in parliamentary reports about talk of throuples and polygamy, truffles? Truffles, throuples, some debate over that, polygamy, polyamory. They’re all distractions
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