Immigration Honesty Is Best Policy

Ireland was one of only three countries (the others were the U.K. and Sweden) which allowed unrestricted access to immigrant workers from the East European states when the EU was enlarged in 2004 to the point where it now has 27 member states. That served the interests of Irish business (construction, hotels, etc.) with a big pool of cheap labor. But what did it do for ordinary Irish people?

I am not saying that all immigration from other EU states needs to be stopped. But it does need to be managed, and it needs to be linked to the level of employment and state services available here. And the government needs to be open and honest about this, to reflect the way ordinary people here feel.

If they do that - and deal with some of the scare stories that were spread about the EU - then another referendum might have a chance. And the recovery of the Irish economy might not take too long. But one way or the other, it's going to be tough for the next year or two.

Did you ever get the feeling you should have stayed on holiday?

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Nster.com