Tomás Ó Flatharta

I note the statement by Mary Lou Mc Donald TD,leader of Sinn Fein with regards to her view that the position to grant special status to Ukrainians following the Russian invasion in 2022 was a mistake.

At the time her party supported the government position.  While party banners were not present, Mary Lou Mc Donald was present for protest outside the Russian Embassy in July to mark 18 months since the invasion. 

I think it unfortunate that the Sinn Fein leader has now expressed a sense of regret at the level  of support for Ukraine in Ireland. Sinn Féin and others have been loud in the support for Palestine rightly, but like so many have left their attention drift with regards to Ukraine.

Rather than reacting to the menacing activity of far right activity and call for a more robust policing and courts response to the fire attack at a hotel in Galway, the Sinn Fein leader’s comments will embolden the nativist elements.

Mary Lou Mc Donald cities the housing crisis as reason to seek to reduce numbers of Ukrainians.   However the impact of Ukrainians on housing is minimal because they are mostly in either hotels or host accommodation.  You can argue that this has significantly impacted on tourism hosting capacity but not housing. 

I think her view towards the ending of the International Protection period is also wrong.  She wants to force people either to leave the country or apply for refugee status.  The reason for Ukrainians coming here is because of Russian invasion.  As long as there is Russian presence in Ukraine or a Russian threat, the need for international protection will continue to extend.  

There is a distinction in the situation with Ukraine and other countries which create refugee flows.  Ukraine does not have internal persecution or oppression.  It is subject to invasion whereas countries such as Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Syria all have internal dysfunction which creates the needs for permanent refugee status whereas Ukraine has temporarily occupied regions and is a country temporarily under threat.

Garrett Mullan, December 24 2023

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The comments of Mary Lou McDonald TD (Sinn Féin President) about Ukrainian refugees in Ireland :

“Ukrainian refugees who are not working in ‘critical’ jobs should not automatically be allowed to remain in Ireland beyond March 2025, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said.

An EU-wide Temporary ­Protection Order for Ukrainians expires in 16 months, at which point Ms McDonald believes ‘you have to differentiate between who wishes to go home and those who wish to stay’.

In a hardening of party policy, the Sinn Féin leader said it was a ‘mistake’ to afford special status to Ukrainians. She said that those without key jobs should be made to apply for asylum – and called for deportations to be expedited.” Link : Mary Lou McDonald, Ukrainian Refugees in Ireland

Sinn Féin anti-racist members and supporters at every level of the organisation who disagree with McDonald’s comments about Ukrainian refugees in Ireland are invited to support the views expressed here by Garrett Mullan.

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About Garrett Mullan :

Garrett’s anti-racism activity goes back to 1992 campaigning in solidarity against the deportation of a Libyan asylum seeker from Dublin. This was at a time when Ireland had less than 50 applications for asylum each year. In 1994, he organised meetings with legendary anti apartheid activist Nimrod Sejake and a holocaust survivor at his further education college. He also travelled with other socialists and anti-racists to the 50,000 strong march against the British National Party (BNP) in October 1993 following the murder of Stephen Lawrence.

Later, he founded Show Racism the Red Card (Show Racism the Red Card) and worked for 12 years on this project developing education and training resources to help tackle racism and contribute to integration.

Update : Garrett Mullan letter in the Irish Daily Mail :