LIMERICK TD Richard O’Donoghue has doubled down on comments he made that Irish people could become a “minority” in their own country years to come.
The Independent Ireland co-founder made the remarks outside the Dáil earlier this week (Tuesday July 8) about the upcoming presidential election and whether his party would be supporting a candidate.
Deputy O’Donoghue maintained the country needs a president who would be representative of all cultures in Ireland, including the Irish culture. He told reporters that Irish culture “needs to be protected”, adding that “Ireland has a great culture … You go anywhere, they love the Irish and our culture.”
“What I want to make sure is that ours is protected here, regardless of what cultures come in here. We recognise all other people’s cultures, as we do when we go to other countries,” he added.
He went on to mention rising population figures, citing numbers around five million people living in Ireland now, up from three million, which he suggested “means the Irish people here could end up in a minority in years to come. So that’s why I want our culture.”
Speaking to the Limerick Post, the Deputy says he stands by the comments, adding that “it’s okay to be Irish and have our own cultures and, if you come to Ireland, you have to respect that”.
“I want to protect the culture we have and the one I grew up with.
“We also have to consider the amount of people we can provide for, and whether or not we have the infrastructure and housing supply to do that, and I don’t think we do. We are leaking at the seams.”
Deputy O’Donoghue said that he wants a president “that respects and protect’s Ireland’s future and embraces it”.
“We welcome other cultures here, we do that 100 per cent. But we also want to make sure the Irish culture is recognised and set in stone for the future.”
Responding to Deputy O’Donoghue’s comments, Labour Party TD for Limerick City Conor Sheehan told this newspaper that he doesn’t believe “we are at risk of losing our Irishness”.
“I think the fact that we have so many people who want to come here to live and work and build a future for themselves – given that the Irish are scattered all over the world – I think immigration is an innate part of what it means to be Irish.”
Deputy Sheehan suggested that “there is a vacuum there at the moment in relation to immigration”.
“The government have promised a public awareness and information campaign around immigration as part of the programme for government. There’s no sign of that yet, and I think that’s more important than who said what on the plinth of Leinster House.
“The vacuum can get filled with things that aren’t necessarily helpful or make sense.”
Looking ahead to the election of the 10th president of Ireland later this year, Deputy Sheehan said “the Irish electorate are very shrewd and very clever. They always choose their president widely and properly.”
“We need a president who embodies the spirit of who we are as a nation. I think we need to protect our culture, obviously that’s really important, but our culture isn’t totally homogenous and there’s many different strands that run through Irish culture,” he concluded.
