HOLLY CAIRNS HAS said Simon Harris’s “tough on immigration” rhetoric is a “panic” response to the presidential election, which saw leftist candidate Catherine Connolly win by a landslide.

Speaking on The Late Late Show tonight, the Social Democrats leader was asked whether she stands by her party’s comparison of Simon Harris to Nigel Farage.

Harris said last week that the number of people entering the country is “too high”, after acknowledging the benefits of immigration.

He made the comments after being asked about Ireland’s immigration policy in light of the riots at Citywest campus last month.

“We used to live in a country where 2,000 to 3,000 people sought international protection each year. That number has gone to, in or around, 20,000; that is a very, very significant increase, and it is too high,” he said.

Cairns accused Harris of “fudging the numbers” by including those with work permits in the immigration figures.

“All he’s trying to do is use ‘tough on immigration’ language,” she said.

The October report on the International Protection System by the Department of Justice said that compared to last year, the number of asylum applications “is trending down”. 

Last month there were 1,053 applications made, compared to 1,479 in October last year.

The presidential election was seen as a shambles for the government and has emboldened left-wing opposition parties.

“What we’ve seen is a very obvious reaction to the result of the presidential election. the government seem to be in panic mode,” Cairns said.

“What they’re doing is trying to point the finger of blame for their failures elsewhere.

“That is not only irresponsible, but in the current climate, when things are so fragile, just a number of days after the riots outside Citywest, it’s actually reprehensible.

“It fans the flames of a very serious and delicate situation.”

She said he “needs to take responsibility” for the impact of his words.