Irish Army Rangers board the MV Matthew in largest-ever drugs haul
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The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Scale of French cops' ineptitude laid bare as nearly FOUR times more migrants made it to UK than they managed to stop
NEARLY four times as many small-boat migrants made it to Britain in one recent week than the French managed to stop, it emerged yesterday. A total of 703 crossed Advertisement 2 Shocking new Home Office data shows 2,599 migrants made it to Britain in the week to July 5 (stock picture) Credit: AFP 2 A total of 703 crossed the Channel in the seven days to June 29 — while French cops stopped just 191 Credit: Getty Shocking new Home Office data shows a further 2,599 migrants made it to Britain in the week to July 5. That includes 879 people who crossed on June 30 alone, the highest daily figure so far this year. The damning figures were released days before President The migrant crisis is believed to top the agenda. Advertisement Read More on UK News The UK has already handed France Last night Tory MPs and Reform UK demanded No10 halt further payments and suspend French fishing rights until crossings stop. Shadow Home Secretary 'Barely any have been stopped by the French — despite being paid nearly half a billion pounds of our money. Advertisement Most read in The Sun 'We should suspend the fishing deal, which the French really care about, until they actually stop the illegal immigrants.' Reform UK deputy leader French cops SLASH small boat & drag it to shore as conveniently placed BBC crew film scene 'They're wasting millions of pounds on deals that have only increased the numbers coming over. 'We shouldn't send another penny to France while they allow this invasion to continue. Advertisement 'The solution is simple. 'We need to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and return the boats back to France.' Figures for the seven days to June 29 showed that 11 attempted crossings were foiled — stopping 191 migrants. However, last Friday Advertisement Dozens of migrants had to wade back to shore. The new tactic is understood to be a precursor to wider changes in French maritime law allowing officers to intercept and disable boats in shallow waters before they reach open sea. Officers on jet skis have also been laying nets designed to jam dinghy propellers. The moves are aimed at countering so-called 'taxi boats,' where traffickers launch vessels from rivers or canals and pick up migrants offshore to dodge beach patrols. Advertisement President Macron and French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau are expected to discuss the crackdown at this week's UK-France summit before it is formally rolled out later this month. But it was unclear if a long-awaited 'one in, one out' returns deal will be ready in time. It would see illegal arrivals sent back to France in exchange for Britain accepting legal asylum seekers. British and French officials are scrambling to finalise terms before Mr Macron lands in London on Tuesday. Advertisement Sir Keir is pushing to announce the deal at the summit as a 'game-changer' — but opposition from five The Home Office said: 'We all want to end dangerous small-boat crossings that undermine our border security and put lives at risk. 'Smuggling gangs do not care if the people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay. 'We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice. Advertisement 'Through international intelligence-sharing under our Border Security Command and tougher legislation in the Borders Bill, we are boosting our ability to identify and dismantle criminal gangs.'
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on young people and democracy: increasing disenchantment
The increased polarisation of European politics appears to be marching in step with an alarming growth in disillusionment among young people with democracy itself, and fears for its survival. A new 10-country survey of 16-to-26-year-olds in Europe has found only six per cent believe their country's political system functions well and does not need reform. Some 57 per cent of young people still prefer democracy to any other form of government – support is highest in Germany at 71 per cent, lowest in Poland at 48 per cent – but, ominously, 21 per cent say they would favour authoritarianism under some circumstances. Only half of young people in France and Spain believe that democracy is the best form of government, the study found. And among those who see themselves as politically to the right of centre and feel economically disadvantaged, support for democracy sinks to just one in three. Forty-eight per cent – and 61 per cent in Germany – worry that the democratic system in their own country is endangered. The survey of 6,700 young people by YouGov was carried out for the German TUI Foundation. It did not include Ireland. READ MORE Political polarisation is deepening, manifested most clearly in the rise of populist parties: 19 per cent now identify with the right, up a quarter since 2021, 33 per cent with the centre, and an unchanged 32 per cent with the left. Sixteen per cent claim no label. The survey also found a widening gender divide, with women, in particular in Germany, France and Italy reporting increasing support for progressive views while young men, notably in Poland and Greece, have swung to the right. The poll also found 73 per cent of British young people want the UK to rejoin the EU. The growing alienation from politics and political institutions reflects the sense among young people that the system has failed them and that their parents' generation has abanoned them. The survey is a timely, important warning that doing things in the old way will not be enough.
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
Smaller apartments, with fewer features, to be allowed in attempt to tackle housing crisis
New guidelines to allow for smaller apartments and higher numbers of small units in individual developments are likely to be approved by the Government this week in a bid to cut the costs of apartment construction and reduce prices for buyers. The measures, reported in The Irish Times last month , are to be brought to the Cabinet by Minister for Housing James Browne . Mr Browne said the steps were among measures being introduced by him this summer to prompt a 'radical step-change' in the supply of housing. A new housing plan, he said, would be presented by Government as soon as possible, though that is not expected until after the updated National Development Plan is agreed later this month. Government sources expect the housing plan will not be ready until autumn. READ MORE The new rules for apartments will not affect standards for energy ratings, disability access and fire safety, but rather focus on design stipulations that the industry has said was adding cost to development. It is expected that the minimum floor area for apartment sizes would be reduced and the requirements for design features such as dual aspects and balconies would be relaxed. Developers say that the standards they are required to build to are the highest in Europe, making Irish apartments more expensive than anywhere else. Government sources say that changing the standards will enable developers to build more apartments in individual developments, cutting the final cost and leading to cheaper prices for purchasers. They hope that the measures could cut the final cost of apartments by between €50,000 and €100,000 each. The Government has repeatedly indicated that central to its housing strategy is an effort to attract more private investment into the market. Declining private investment has seen a slump in the number of apartments being built, especially in Dublin. 'We've been way too cautious and way too against getting the private sector involved,' Mr Browne told RTÉ One's The Week in Politics on Sunday. But Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin condemned the latest plans to change apartment standards as 'utter madness' that would do nothing to address viability challenges. He said the moves would push up the value of land and therefore developers' costs. Large crowds gathered in Dublin city on Saturday as part of an all-island housing demonstration urging the Government to act on the crisis . Led by the Community Action Tenants Union (CATU), and backed by more than 80 other trade unions and organisations, protesters marched through the city centre from the Garden of Remembrance towards Molesworth Street.
