Sinn Féin TD for Dublin North-West Dessie Ellis says that far-right and anti-immigration candidates could have a “major impact” on the upcoming local elections.
In December, the Sunday Times reported that anti-immigration candidates would be running as either Independent candidates or as members of parties that are categorised as far-right, with the article stating that internal polling at Sinn Féin shows concern that those candidates may siphon off votes from the party.
The Sunday Times report claimed that “dozens” of these candidates would be running nationwide, but there have been no major formal declarations as of yet by anti-immigrant parties or candidates.
By comparison, all major political parties ranging from Fine Gael to People Before Profit have announced candidates for the upcoming local elections and are already canvassing voters.
Ellis says that the candidates who are running on anti-immigration platforms could cause “enough confusion” and “spread enough false information” to target Sinn Féin candidates.
With Sinn Féin running three or four candidates in some situations, Ellis stated that a marginally strong performance from far-right candidates could be enough to prevent Sinn Féin from winning their desired amount of seats.
The party have announced 27 candidates running for Dublin City Council so far, up from 21 in 2019, with the possibility of more to be added.
Speaking to Northside People, Ellis emphasised that turnout would be crucial on the day to prevent far-right candidates from taking seats on Dublin City Council.
Noting that local elections usually have poor turnout (across the 5 Dublin City Council constituencies covered by the West edition, the average turnout in 2019 was 31.4%) Ellis said that while he doesn’t expect far-right candidates to top the polls they could receive enough votes to influence the outcome of the final seats in a 5 or 6-seater.
“When we’re talking about locals, a difference of 40, 50, 100 votes could make the difference, and that’s where these kinds of candidates could do the most damage,” he said.
Ellis acknowledged that the 2019 local elections were poor for Sinn Féin, stating “the grassroots didn’t turn out but did in the general election 8 months later; I’m asking those voters to turn out this June.”
“I know that at local elections people may not be motivated to turn out, it’s not as exciting as a general election, but it’s important to stress it to people here; your vote matters, especially with these kinds of candidates running.”
He said that a vote for Sinn Féin in June would mean a vote for “positive, progressive politics” as opposed to far-right candidates “who offer nothing.”
Ellis stated that the far-right parties are more likely to be influential at a local level because of low turnout and it is a different set of circumstances compared to a general election.
The debate surrounding immigration has become one of the defining issues in Irish politics in recent months, with 25% of those polled in a Sunday Independent / Ireland Thinks saying that immigration is the most important issue in Irish politics right now, polling above healthcare issues, the economy and crime.
Arson attacks on current and proposed asylum seeker centres have been criticised by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, saying that while protesting the centres is “perfectly acceptable,” there was “no excuse” for damaging property.
While there have been no arrests following the recent arson attacks, he asserted “there will be arrests in the coming weeks and the full force of the law will be felt by anyone who engages in arson or engages in violence.”
He stated that “Gardaí are very much aware of the risks that arise, not just when we seek to establish a new accommodation centre but when it comes to existing ones as well that sadly are potential targets.”
He expressed concern that someone could be killed in an attack on an asylum centre.
“I have a real fear that somebody could be very severely injured, or somebody could lose their life because of somebody attacking either a proposed centre or an existing centre,” he told reporters on a visit to Kosovo.
“The existing centres have people in them and the proposed ones for the future sometimes will have security. Nobody engaging in arson can know for sure that there isn’t someone in there, whether it is a night watchman, a security guard or perhaps somebody sleeping rough.”
He said that the issue is a “big worry” but is something that is on his radar and his concerns are shared with the Minister for Justice and the Gardaí.