Gerry Hutch's immigration comments 'straight out of Trump playbook', Councillor says

Eva Osborne

Gerry Hutch's immigration comments are "straight out of the Donald Trump playbook", Dublin City Councillor and byelection candidate, Janet Horner, has said.

Hutch, who is also contesting the upcoming Dublin Central byelection on May 22nd, has suggested that “illegal” immigrants should be “interned in the Curragh”.

Horner said Hutch's comments, particularly the ones "singling out" the Somali community, are "prejudiced" and "harmful".

Hutch said that he had no issue with “genuine” immigrants “bringing their toolbox to work”, but added "...the ones that are Somalians and them type of people, no way. Interned".

On Hutch's comments, Horner said: "People coming to Ireland seeking refuge are entitled to be treated with the same dignity and respect as everyone else, and should not be singled out on nationality, race or any other factor.

"Dublin Central deserves someone with real solutions, rather than hateful soundbites that are intended to sow division and fear.

"Hutch's comments show that after his decades in Spain he's completely disconnected from the communities in Dublin Central. I've lived here for close to two decades, work closely with the many diverse communities of the area and I've knocked on 1000s of doors around the constituency over the past few months. I know that the vast majority of people don't buy into his prejudiced viewpoints.

"There's no place for this rhetoric in politics, and I know the people of Dublin Central will show this when they roundly reject him and other far right voices at the ballot box on 22nd May."