Ireland Erupts Over Mass Migration

What’s happening: As Ireland’s population is essentially at capacity, anger toward mass migration is fueling support for anti-migrant independent candidates.

• Context: In November 2023, Dubliners erupted into violent, fiery riots after a naturalized citizen of Algerian descent stabbed three children and a schoolteacher.

• Since 2018, 23 fires have been set “at properties or locations linked (…) to the housing of people seeking asylum or international protection.”

Why it matters: The political shift in Ireland mirrors what's happening across the Western world: confronted with mass migration, societies with no significant populist-right history are gravitating there.

Small town anguish: The Irish government ordered closure of a small town’s only hotel to house asylum seekers. The migrants’ origins weren’t disclosed, but most arrive from Nigeria, Georgia, and Algeria.

• Keep in mind: None of the aforementioned countries are at war, meaning these are likely economic migrants.

Rising independents: Until recently, the Irish left appeared set to win the next elections. But support for anti-migrant independent candidates has risen (though there is no significant populist-right party in Ireland) — drawing votes from the left-wing Sinn Féin (S.F.) party.

• Changing winds: The Irish Times revealed that a mere 16 percent of voters favor more immigration. Supporters of all three major parties overwhelmingly prefer a stricter system, including nearly three-fourths of historically pro-immigration S.F. voters.

Top concerns: Polling indicates that the top two concerns for Irish voters are lack of housing and migration. The two issues fuel each other — as more migrants arrive, housing becomes scarcer which, in turn, heightens concerns about migration.