PEOPLE BEFORE PROFIT and Solidarity TDs have accused Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan and the government as a whole of seeking to “divide and rule” with their new proposals to make it more difficult for immigrants to become Irish citizens. 

They also called on other opposition parties to “take a stand” against the policies. 

Speaking after the parties’ think-in today, People Before Profit leader Richard Boyd Barrett said the proposals showed the government was “leaning into the tactics of Trump and the far right”.

“It’s an absolute disgrace. It is a non-issue, but it is very cynically designed to deflect away and scapegoat people for the government’s own failures.”

Paul Murphy said the plans were “the latest episode of performative cruelty by Jim O’Callaghan” and compared recent government policies to failed attempts by those in other countries to appease far-right movements. 

“This is a playbook which has been tried and tested over and over again by those parties in the so-called centre, and the only result always is to normalise the rhetoric of the far right,” he said. 

Members of People Before Profit- Solidarity at a press conference in Dublin today David Mac Redmond David Mac Redmond

O’Callaghan got approval from government ministers on Tuesday to prioritise overhauling the route to citizenship through naturalisation, which will include an extension of the time a person needs to live in Ireland from five to eight years. 

O’Callaghan also intends to introduce language and civics tests and to increase the amount of money a person has to have to apply for citizenship. 

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the aim of the new policies was to bring Ireland in line with the rest of the European Union.

Murphy said O’Callaghan was “playing a horrendous game of divide and rule, and trying to make people think that there’s a problem here when there is no problem here”.

He also said the policy would not benefit anyone.

“This isn’t going to build a single house. It isn’t going to bring down the cost of living. It isn’t going to provide childcare. It isn’t going to provide therapists for kids with additional needs,” he said. 

“There’s no benefit to anybody from this policy announcement, none whatsoever.”

Murphy speculated that the government was “lifting policies from the social media platforms of various far-right actors,” a reference to the X platform owned by Elon Musk.

Solidarity’s Ruth Coppinger said the government was starting off the new Dáil term next week with the proposals about naturalisation in order to “sideline” the ongoing cost of living and housing crises.

Instead of dealing with those challenges, Coppinger said, “they’re going to raise up a non-issue”.

She compared the move to the politics of the British far-right Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and said that other opposition parties in the Dáil “who call themselves left” need to vigorously oppose it. 

“The government seems to want guest workers in this country,” she said.

“This is anti-integration. It’s leaving people isolated, it’s leaving them marginalized, the five to eight years is just outrageous.

“There’s no need for it, no call for it.” 

O’Callaghan has said that “Ireland values the contribution migrants make to our economy, communities and public services,” describing the proposed reforms as “balanced, proportionate and necessary”.

“The proposals do not seek to restrict integration or exclude migrants from Irish society,” he said. 

Trump visit

The TDs also criticised the government “rolling out the red carpet” for US President Donald Trump, who arrives in Ireland this weekend to attend the Irish Open golf tournament at his Doonbeg resort in Co Clare. 

Coppinger said Trump “is the key funder of a genocide that they officially state they oppose,” referring to Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza. 

The Irish government’s position is that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Coppinger also questioned why the visit went from being a private trip for business promotion reasons to essentially “a state visit”.

Trump is due to meet with President Catherine Connolly on Saturday and Coppinger said “hopefully she will speak out”. 

Boyd Barrett said “it says everything about the rotten priorities of this government that they’re going to roll out the red carpet for Donald Trump”.