Ivana Bacik: Leo Varadkar's immigration comments 'a new low'
Picture: Friday Batik Lazarov/rollingnews Alternative Sasko Her Budget On Labour Launching Ivana Leader Party's 2025
Labour leader Ivana Bacik has condemned comments by Leo Varadkar on immigration as "a new low".
In an interview with US college Notre Dame's newspaper , the former Taoiseach said that immigration was rising at too fast a pace.
Mr Varadkar is quoted as saying: "The majority of people think that the numbers have been too big in recent years, and they’re right.
"A country of five million people seeing its population rise by 2% a year, which is what’s happening at the moment, is too fast."
Speaking at the launch of the Labour party's alternative budget, Ms Bacik said the comments by the former Fine Gael leader were "deeply inappropriate".
Suggesting that there has been too much immigration does not take into account the need to provide shelter for the many people around the world who are fleeing wars such as the one in Ukraine, she said.
Many employers and sectors such as healthcare, education and childcare are "crying out for labour" and those who arrive in Ireland can fill these roles, Ms Bacik noted.
"So I think these comments are deeply unhelpful. It is a new low. We saw the Taoiseach's comments last week appearing to conflate homelessness with migration. Really unhelpful and I have criticised those," she said, refering to controversial comments made by Simon Harris last week where he said there is a link between the migration challenge and the homeless challenge in Ireland.
Ms Bacik went on to also criticise Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty for his recent comments which she labelled "anti-Ukrainian".
Mr Doherty said that giving an €800 tax-free payment to homeowners who rent their homes to Ukrainians is reducing housing supply and is an “incentive” to chose a renter “based on their nationality”.
Sinn Féin also came under criticism from Ged Nash at the party's budget launch on Friday.
Mr Nash said Mr Doherty's comments were extraordinary and devisive regarding the "very basic supports that refugees fleeing the slaughter in Ukraine" are receiving.
"Sinn Féin are becoming more like Fine Gael by the day and they wonder why they are losing support," he said.
The alternative budget put forth by Labour was presented by Ms Bacik as an ambitious programme to address the endemic challenges facing Ireland.
Among the proposals are plans to build an additional 6,000 social and affordable homes as well as funding 6,000 public childcare places.
Their cost of living package promises to double the rent credit to €1,500 in 2024 and 2025 and provide €300 energy credits.
In an effort to tackle disadvantage in education, Labour is proposing the introduction of a new DEIS+ model at a cost of €35m.
The party includes an Autism Guarantee which it says will ensure an appropriate school place for all children and expand school therapies as well as carrying out autism audits in every school in the country.