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GARDAÍ HAVE RENEWED their appeal for witnesses to a serious road crash on the M6 at Newford, Athenry in Galway on Wednesday evening.
A five-year-old girl was seriously injured in the three-vehicle collision, which happened at around 7pm.
All three vehicles were travelling westbound towards Galway city when the crash happened. Five other people were taken to University Hospital Galway for treatment to non life-threatening injuries.
The young girl has since been transferred to Temple Street Hospital in Dublin, where her condition was described this afternoon as “critical”.
Anyone who may have witnessed the crash, or assisted at the scene afterwards, is being asked to contact Mill Street Garda Station on 091 538000, the Garda Confidential Line 1800-666-111 or any Garda Station.
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I’m currently living and working in the Middle East. It’s beyond me why these people need to travel to Ireland for shelter, as there are plenty of places here to give them work etc. might have something to do with our social welfare?
Perhaps, Michael, they need to come to Ireland as the majority of prosperous ME countries are refusing to grant residency visas to Syrians (I know from experience trying to arrange visas for Qatar and UAE that Syrians are being refused). Indeed, Syrians cannot now enter Qatar on even a temporary tourist or business visa. Even Syrians who are already resident in the UAE are having difficulty if they change jobs.
This group in the article are coming to join family members who are already legally resident in Ireland, I am not in favour of open borders but managed immigration should be encouraged. Particularly when it is humanitarian in nature as this is. I say this as an immigrant to the UAE.
Micheal I’m of the personal opinion that the Dublin Convention should be enforced and people should be forced to stay in the first safe country so I kinda agree with you there…
But I’m really really sick and tired of this notion that our social welfare is some elaborate world class system, it’s based on total ignorance of the kind of welfare states that are all around us, most of which are 5-6 times the level of coverage in health, education, jobseekers payments as what we have, many EU states give you a majority of your previous income for a fixed period as your welfare before it starts to drop. The idea what were have this elaborate social welfare system is total rubbish. Don’t indulge in it.
We can give them all medical cards too when they arrive. Luckily government found a load of ones Irish people didn’t need.
I was going to say we are fast becoming a xenophobic state, but in reality we always were one but are just showing our true colours :-(
Brendan, Peter is spot on. Hey, maybe we could find a house for them while we’re at it.
Alex did you even read the article before commenting?
@Peter…@Alex…
I don’t know where you grew up so you may either be unaware of this or choosing to forget it but there are entire housing estates all around this country with multigenerational unemployment, multigenerational life long welfare usage, where the house is state provided, the entire income is state provided, unexpected expenses are state provided, the healthcare is state provided…
These people were on social welfare even at the height of the boom, were talking about at least 100,000 people here, probably double or triple that. We spend billions on giving these people a lifestyle of comofrt and security every year of their lives despite a total lack of effort on their part to contribute to society in any way, the only thing they seem capable of doing is consuming income and reproducing ”by accident”…though they never accidentally do something that will leave them worse off in a welfare application…they only do things that will accidentally leave them better off.
Many of these very same people, not content with leeching off society financially, also spend their days robbing from the rest of us, assaulting the rest of us, and getting away with it scot free.
I’d suggest you worry more about those people, who cost us at least 3-4 billion a year, and less about refugees that cost us in the medium millions at most.
I’m from Longford, Ryan.
I think that people need to sit back and read the article properly before losing the run of themselves.
1. There is a very brutal war on in Syria and anyone fleeing it can be classed as a genuine asylum seeker and not your usual economic migrant with a made up bullshit story.
2. They are sponsored by Syrians who are legally here and who want to bring in family members. Those family members will be allowed to work, pay tax’s and be productive members of society for up to 2 years. If they can’t find work then the sponsor has to provide for them as a condition of their entry into the country is that “they will not be a burden on the State”.So you can throw comments about medical cords, free houses and social welfare payments out the window.
3. This is the most important one in my view. The people who want to seek the protection of the Irish people are going about it LEGALLY! They are going through the proper channels, filling out the forms and showing respect to the people and country that they seek to reside in by obeying our laws and procedures. They are not arriving here having “lost” their passport having traveled through 2 or 3 different countries and claiming asylum with a total makeup story that they will be killed, raped, persecuted if they are sent back only to be granted asylum and then the first thing they do is go home and visit their buddies.
I for one would welcome these Syrian refuges as they are in genuine need of asylum, will not be a burden on the State and have respectfully asked for sanctuary through the proper channels. They have shown respect for our country and our laws and I think that we should respond in kind and welcome them to country.
Well said Brian, a good reasoned and sensible exposition of the facts.
Thank you Brian, scrolling down the comments I was rolling my eyes skyward. These are genuine refugees, we’re not talking about throwing open floodgates here, we’re just talking about a handful of people who would probably fit in an average-sized apartment block. While I have some issue with the government sending foreign aid to countries with very dodgy regimes, the whole ‘We can’t look after our own!?’ hysteria does not apply to this case, if any.
Well done Brian, you said everything I was thinking
We can’t support our own ffs…
What is wrong with the wan#kers running this country, time to get some serious protest on I think
Are we going to take in all refugees from every war torn country ??
As was posted above by another commenter, one of the conditions for sponsored entry into the state is that the people granted entry cannot burden the state. It is the responsibility of those who vouched for them to provide for them if they cannot find work and provide for themselves.
@Elaine; You say we can’t support our own as if there are Irish citizens that are starving and going through extreme hardship. The problems we’re facing in this country due to austerity etc. are only minor inconveniences compared to what innocent civilians in Aleppo and Homs are going through.
@kugal you think that there are no irish people going through hardship and poverty right now? Are u really that stupid???? The war is in there country let there government look after them.
@Elaine; Really? What we’re going through here pales in comparison to what a lot of people are going through in Syria. Such a bigoted, primitive attitude to say “it’s their war, let them sort it out themselves”, because it’s pretty clear that a lot of those civilians didn’t want a war. How would you like it if you were in their shoes? Country boundaries should be put aside for circumstances like these and every country should facilitate their fair share of asylum seekers, once the Asylum seekers are legitimate of course, which these people appear to be.
Perhaps it should be done on a per capita basis, whereby larger European countries facilitate more refugees in order to help prevent the formation of ghettos etc.
Elaine to be fair while everybody acknowledges that there are people going through some serious hardship in Ireland they are not being shot at, bombed, gassed, raped, ethnically cleansed or tortured. They are also not paraded into their town squares to see their neighbors shot in the back of the head or have their throats cuts. The people who want to come here are going to be sponsored by relatives so they will not be a burden on the State, they will get no benefits and they are only allowed to stay for 2 years. I fail to see how you missed that in the article as it is there in black and white.
As for your comment “let there government look after them.” If you can find a working Government in Syria please let the Syrians know. Their “offical” Government led by Bashir Al-Assad is dropping barrel bombs on them, The Free Syrian Army is shooting everything that moves including each other and the Al Qaeda nutjobs are using poison gas as well as getting 13 y.o children to slit POW’s throats in public executions.
Will you be volunteering to go out to Syria to these applicants and tell them that they can’t get sanctuary in Ireland and that the should go down to their local Social Welfare and seek help there?
There’s been trouble in the Middle East for centuries… It’s not our war let those involved pick up the pieces… Why does Ireland always have to fork out..
We have our own problems to deal with first, look to our own first, and I don’t care what the do gudders say it’s you lot have this country like it is… Well I hope you have plenty of spare cash to pay extra taxes to fund these people coming into our country because you know the government won’t pay out
Elaine you are dead right in saying that the government won’t pay out for these 94 people as they are being SPONSORED! Seeing as you obviously didn’t bother to read the article fully here is the bit that you missed…..
“There are strict obligations for the applicants in that the person “should not become a burden on the State”.
If these family members cannot find employment the onus will be on the sponsors to support them during their time in Ireland.”
“A sponsor may be a single person or the head of a family unit. Persons admitted under the programme will be entitled to work, establish a business, or invest in the State.”
So they can work or invest in the State and if that doesn’t work out then the sponsor has to support them. That means no dole, medical card, council house or social support of any kind.
Syria situation is awful let Russia amd the USA sort it since they are behind alot of it
And the Saudi royalty
Charity begins at home and due to Kenny, Gilmore, ahern, cowan and their ill gotten self agenda’s Ireland is screwed. Let Syria look after Syria. Period.
Syrian can’t look after Syria at the minute
I think you’ll find that Syria is a tad worse off than Ireland.
No offence, but If this continued Islam is going to be largest the religion in Ireland by 2020 ! They’ll be on refugee status for years means no work ! Bourdon on the society !
Stats to back that up?
6 years to go…. 2+ million Muslims still needed for your “stat” to be legit.
A “Bourdon” ? I don’t think refugees will be the reason you can’t get work.
I don’t have any stats to back that but I’m telling you they will be in the majority very soon… It’s happening my country, it’ll happen in this country as well
Well it can be if you’re not willing to do any work !
Jay, youre the same as those muslims in Ireland. You’re just as foreign as they are.
Did I say I’m Irish ? I’m an Indian so called foreigner in this country, got no prob with that…
@Jay; Who cares if they’re in a majority, as long as they keep to themselves.
No Jay you didn’t but if I said the same about Indians as you said about Muslims you’d be annoyed.
According to the 1991 census there were 3875 Muslims in Ireland in a population of 3525719, in 2011 that had risen to 49204. In 20 years the percentage grew from 0.1 per cent of the total population to 1.1 per cent. In earlier years Muslim men outnumbered women by over 50% but that is changing rapidly so future growth might well be a cause for alarm given the experience elsewhere.
@Hallie; Only a tiny percentage of Muslims living in the UK at the moment would be supportive of radical Sharia law and the terrorist groups such as the likes of Boko haram and al shabab that seek to enforce it.
I’m pretty sure the civilians who are seeking asylum are not radicals or supportive of terror groups etc. However, if asylum seekers were to arrive, they would have to integrate into communities and not just be plonked into council housing estates. Besides, I think the whole issue of whether or not they would seek benefits (even though they’d clearly be sponsored) should be less critical to decision making than the fact that we’d be saving lives.
Tommy yes I would have been annoyed but at least I won’t demand for sharia law in the near future… They are demanding in The UK, Spain… Ireland could be the next !
This should not be entertained – as fully paid up members of the EU we have 350m+ citizens with automatic rights to stay here. We can’t indulge ourselves with more from outside.
Jays but in another article on the Journal we’re being told Some Irish children are starving!
No wonder my friends no longer listen to the drivel that is the news these days.
@Brehon Law; That’s a really backward outlook to have. I think every country should take in its fare share of innocent civilians whose lives have been made hell by that horrid conflict. There’s barely 5 million people living on this island, there’s more than enough room to provide at least short term refuge, particularly if the families of asylum seekers live here and are willing to support them.
If other countries won’t let them in then that’s there problem, but I think it’s important to do the right thing and lead by example.
Perhaps if the US stopped provoking trouble in Syria by supplying artillery and weapons to their head hacking terrorists there would be no need for these Syrians to leave their own country.
Russia is supporting Assad and blocking UN resolutions let them shoulder some responsibility
Russia and Iran supports government, the west supports moderate rebels, Saudi supports the extremists and Turkey will support anyone fighting the Kurds, it’s one big mess.
Who started it?
One is on the defensive while the other (US ) is on the offensive. This is all about regime change.. Assad wants nothing to do with Western Imperialism, Rothschild Central banking and corporate greed invading his country and rightly so.
Don’t bother arguing with Frank. Sure if a tree falls in the woods Frank assumes it’s a US conspiracy and nothing will change his mind.
Amazing how paranoid some people can be.
Jason …Everyone knows that the US supports terrorism in syria, its no longer a conspiracy. Why are you such an apologist for these Christian murdering rebels and those that support them?
Muslim refugees should be taken in by other muslim countries. We have enough issues of our own without taking them in.
And where does your proposed refugee policy end Tommy. Only Christians allowed….only whites allowed?
Like with like Kevin. Muslim values are incompatible with the western countries. That has been and is being proven over and over again.
And if it’s like for like then you are adopting their values. It’s ridiculous populism and unworkable in reality. But populists prefer being loud to being practical
Even if these people are genuine Ireland cannot take them as we are currently full with bogus asylum seekers and every pick pocket, and scrounger that Eastern Europe can produce. Public services in Ireland are at breaking point of course the do-gooders who advocate open door immigration don’t rely on rely on them.
This guy. ^
Wow, the tone of the majority of the comments on here makes me so sad. Ireland of the Welcomes is truly dead and gone.
They also make me suspect many of the commenters didn’t (or couldn’t?) actually read the details of the article. No longer the Land of Saints and Scholars either.
I wonder what are we now?
We are a nation of people trying to get by as our leaders here and in Europe turn the screws tighter and tighter. We cannot take in anymore people. 100,000 people are on a housing list, 5000 are homeless and 450,000 are unemployed.
Enough!!!
They would want to make sure they don’t let in any of the hardline Islamists fanatics who are imposing Sharia Law in Syria. While the majority of the Syrian ‘rebels’ are foreign there is a small portion who are Syrian and believe in a very twisted form of Islam. The kind that let’s them chop the heads off infidels, use child soldiers, abducted innocent people and take any rights away from women.
We saw the Department royally screw up with the Libya situation. They allowed members of LIFG to fly between Ireland and Libya in order to hospital treatment here. Granted they were granted Irish residency and had been living here for a while yet there they were, a member of LIFG on a popular talk show on Rte on Fri day night being interviewed.
An insular bunch on here this morning.
Thankfully most commenters here don’t reflect Irish society.
We are the most charitable country in Europe despite austerity. I’m very proud of that.
Syrian refugees aren’t opportunistic chancers. – they are escaping a bloody, brutal and barbaric civil war where millions of civilians are being targeted with heavy ordinance and chemical weapons.
I wouldn’t expect some of the troglodytes here to appreciate the nuances of war crimes.
All of those who are saying that they we shouldn’t help them, wouldn’t pass a dying man in the street without doing their best to save him. You wouldn’t let your neighbours child die from drinking dirty water. Just because we can not see this suffering, doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
We as a nation have a chance to save a few lives. Only 94. There are millions in need of help, and we have a chance to save less than 100 of them.
Putting food on the tables of the poor is not what screwed up our economy. The bankers, the politicians and the corrupt business people of Ireland, who ARE to blame, happily sit back and let the middle classes blame the lower classes for this recession. You can be damn sure that a child having enough food to survive and a blanket and a safe place to sleep is not what caused this recession.
I for one would much rather we spent our money on saving a few lives, than on lining the same corrupt pockets all over again. Bring them here. Welcome them. Save them. There are far worse things our government could be spending our money on.
Should we vet them for extremism, murder, war crimes etc, should we send them back when the war is over, or should we let them live high on hog for years after the war is over as is currently happening with Bosnians.
All Syrians should be be allowed into Ireland until their countries problems settle. Then they and their families should be shipped back immediately and the bill sent to their new government.
Jay…It’s about humanity not religion or any race. Sure wtf are u doing in Ireland? As there are enough jobs in India. And for the rest of u. I am from the USA and we have about 9 million Irish over there and the rest of u are welcome.
I fully support giving Syrians in need asylum but we have to be extremely careful not to let in any extremists who will just end up going back over there to blow things up once they have got financed by the Irish Muslim community. Britain weren’t careful enough and now they will have a massive security headache once all their homegrown fighters start coming back.
The Journal published this at the exact time it also published a piece about the lives of children in Syria. Stop hiding your persuasions Journal, I’ll respect you more.
I for one welcome these people in their hour of need, I would much rather see them here than on Liveleak getting beheaded or executed by terrorists.
However, as Turkey is a major player in facilitating these terrorists, the responsibility should lay with them, and the UK, France, Saudi Arabia and the US, we should not being doing this as Shatter put it to stand in solidarity with Turkey, but to stand In Solidarity with Syria.
For the people complaining about medical cards and houses etc, where did your hearts go?
We are a country that has exported countless citizens for generations – I think it’s ridiculous that anyone on here objects to Ireland allowing a tiny number of people flee a war zone.
A little historic perspective…..
http://www.razormind.co.uk/how-quickly-we-forget-how-muslims-helped-ireland-during-the-great-famine/
have your say