In times of trouble, most people move to the back of the crowd. ‘Not me,’ they’ll say, ‘it’a nothing to do with me.’ When An Bord Snip Nua released its cost-cutting package last week, almost every spectrum of society said ‘not me’. It’s a human reaction.
But the bottom line is that the Fianna Fáil-led Government squandered the country’s wealth. As public wages and house prices skyrocketed, they never said ‘stop’. They never pricked the false bubble. Now Ireland is sinking, and the fact that health, education and social welfare account for more than three quarters of Government spending cannot be ignored.
Among the measures suggested in the €5.3bn savings plan is a €10m cut in immigration staff at the Department of Justice. This would be a major blow to people due to submit citizenship and residency applications. Already such applicants are waiting two years before being accorded their status – this after five years legally living and working in Ireland, and paying taxes.
Metro Éireann accepts that the immigration service may suffer cost-cutting. But what we don’t accept is that immigrants must disproportionately suffer. If application waiting times are extended, there are practical solutions that could be implemented. An interim status, for instance, could be given to those waiting longer than current times, so that they can move on with their lives in Ireland.
This is just one suggestion that the department needs to consider, as the country’s multi-ethnic relations will be at stake.
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