Around three-in-four people in the Republic support the Irish government’s plans to get tougher on immigration, according to a new poll.
The new survey, which was carried out by the Sunday Business Post and Red C, revealed that 72% of those asked were in favour of the government’s move to make immigration and remaining in Ireland more difficult.
It comes after the Republic’s justice minister Jim O’Callaghan secured cabinet approval to strengthen immigration legislation.
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The Department of Justice intends to introduce new rules on asylum and citizenship applications, as well as limiting the number of people coming into the country through family reunification processes.
They also aim to increase powers to revoke refugee status if an individual commits a crime or is identified as a security risk.
The change in government stance comes following comments made by Tánaiste Simon Harris at the end of October following violent protests at an asylum seeker centre in Dublin.
Mr Harris said that “too many people” who come to the Republic and are told they “do not have a right to be here” take too long to leave.
While almost three quarters of respondents are in favour of the government’s moves, just 11% said they opposed the proposals.
An additional 17% said they had a neutral stance or did not know.
When broken down by political party support, 77% of Fianna Fáil and 75% of Fine Gael supporters said they were in favour of the plans.
This was echoed among Sinn Féin voters, with 76% in favour.
Three-quarters of those who vote for independents also said they were in favour of the plan, indicating widespread support across the political divide.
