PoliticsAnalysis

Aontú may be ‘listening’ but party is squeezed on all sides

Party leader Peadar Tóibín calls at ardfheis for Irish Sea border which would impose passport controls on asylum seekers arriving into Northern Ireland

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín called for a more controlled immigration system. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín called for a more controlled immigration system. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
Jennifer Bray's picture
Jennifer Bray
Sat Apr 27 2024 - 17:02

There are two narratives about the future of the Aontú party.

The first is that support is quickly building across the country, with the number of new members turbocharged by Aontú being on the right side of the pitch for the family and care referendums.

The second is that Aontú has struggled to make a national breakthrough and will continue to be squeezed on all sides, having, as it does, positions that lean both left and right.

Both are true.

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In the most recent Irish Times/Ipsos poll in February, Aontú was registering support levels of just 1 per cent. The poll was taken before those referendums, however, and party leader Peadar Tóibín will likely take more heart in a recent Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll which put support closer to 4 per cent.

Tóibín, who campaigned loudly and successfully for a No No vote in the referendums, says an extra 400 members came his way in the aftermath of those results, bringing total membership to about 2,000.

At Aontú's ardfheis in Maynooth on Saturday, delegates gave passionate speeches about the state of the health service, the housing crisis and the cost-of-living crisis with the focus of the gathering being very much about “bread-and-butter issues”.

Dotted out on tables in the Glenroyal Hotel were leaflets decrying “abortion on demand” which claimed that the Government has been “seeking to normalise abortion throughout Irish society”. On the walls were posters declaring that Aontú is the party of “common sense” as motions were tabled opposing the controversial hate speech legislation and assisted dying.

And during a press conference, Tóibín once again called for a more controlled immigration system.

He said there should be an “Irish Sea border in terms of people” which would see asylum seekers who arrive into Northern Ireland subjected to the same passport controls as Irish airports and ports.

His comments are topical, as it emerged last week that more than 80 per cent of people applying for asylum in Ireland are coming from the UK over the land Border with Northern Ireland.

On the other hand, Tóibín decried “bad actors” around the country who he believes are seeking to stir up trouble and “harvest the discontent that exists within the State”.

“I would urge people to make sure that they do not get involved in any of those actions, to only act peacefully and democratically in the future.”

On local radio on Friday, Tóibín also hit out at what he described as a growing trend of “ethnonationalism” following clashes between gardaí and protesters in Newtownmountkennedy.

The comments were picked up on social media platforms by some on the far right who appear annoyed that, in the words of one individual, Tóibín was “punching right”.

It’s not the first time in recent months that Aontú has been targeted by elements of the far right.

Newly announced local election candidates such as Fayiz Alsani, Tinko Tinev and Jose Syriac were recently subjected to online abuse after Aontú declared their candidacy. In some instances, Aontú has disabled online comments on posts about these new candidates, with the party keen to distance itself entirely from racism of any kind.

On Saturday, Aontú was calling for an immigration policy which contains “compassion and common sense” and which opposes “discrimination against any citizen on the basis of the colour of their skin”. A motion from the party’s ard comhairle also called for a “stricter immigration policy that is sustainable” with processing times reduced to a maximum of four months.

[ Aontú calls for stricter immigration checks in Northern Ireland ]

[ Do Peadar Tóibín and Aontú have their finger on the public pulse? ]

In truth, Aontú's position on immigration is not a million miles from that of the Government, which has recently vowed to enforce deportations and tighten up rules, although Aontú differs in not supporting the European Union migration pact.

Aontú has called for a greater level of public consultation: Taoiseach Simon Harris recently agreed that the Government shouldn’t be “rocking up” and taking a community’s last hotel out of circulation. Harris said a more proactive policy was needed.

Aontú has called for a community dividend for those taking in high numbers: the Government has established a community recognition fund.

Aontú has said the asylum application process is shockingly slow: the Government appears to agree by virtue of recent announcements to introduce faster processing times.

Ultimately, the party’s position on immigration is unlikely to win it huge swathes of extra votes in the coming months. Those motivated to vote against the Government because of immigration may find themselves drifting towards Independent candidates.

In the coming weeks ahead of polling day, Aontú will instead heavily capitalise on the referendum results and will present itself as a party that is “actually listening to people”, as Tóibín says.

It will also present itself as opposing the Government but also sometimes the rest of the Opposition as well.

It will take swipes at other smaller parties such as the Green Party. This weekend Tóibín said that while the Green Party is worrying about the end of the world, most people are worrying about getting paid at the end of the month. In reality, plenty of people worry about both.

Aontú is campaigning against carbon tax: firm Sinn Féin territory.

The message from Aontú will be that “we are the party of common sense”.

The problem is that common sense means different things to different people.