Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern has insisted he has “no problem” with people from “the Congo” or Africa after footage surfaced of him speaking to a woman about immigration during a by-election canvass last week.
Speaking to The Irish Times on Wednesday, he said, “I’ve no problem with people from the Congo or Africa or anywhere else. I’ve good friends around Drumcondra, there’s a lot of the clergy in from Africa.”
An online video appeared to show former Fianna Fáil TD Ahern canvassing in Dublin, where he suggested there are “too many” people coming into the country, saying he’s worried about the “next generation” of Muslims.
Ahern also said he had no problem with Ukrainians, but he had concerns about people arriving here from Africa.
The former taoiseach’s conversation was filmed without his knowledge.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin had said Ahern’s opinions on immigration are not reflective of those of Fianna Fáil.
“I think it’s not appropriate, in my view, to sort of be specific about any given ethnicity. That’s not, in my view, correct or proper,” he said.
“I think we have to respect people. We have many different ethnicities in Ireland, many Irish citizens with different ethnic backgrounds, and that has to be respected.”
The chief executive of Doras slammed Ahern for what he said are “misinformed” and “damaging” comments about refugees in Ireland.
Doras chief executive John Lannon told Newstalk that the video is extremely shocking.
“It’s really important that people who are in positions of influence who are in leadership roles and seen as such within the communities act responsibly, do not amplify misinformation, misrepresentations or racism,” Lannon said.
“He is, as I said, putting people’s lives at risk and doing a huge disservice to all of the great people in his own community.”
Fianna Fáil’s by-election candidate, John Stephens, is an ally of the former taoiseach and is contesting the election in Ahern’s former Dublin Central constituency.
The by-election will be held on May 22nd to fill the seat vacated by former Fine Gael minister Paschal Donohoe following his departure to the World Bank in November.
The video shows a canvasser calling Ahern over to a doorstep to speak to a woman who “wants to say hello”.
She raised concerns about “globalism” and the “hordes of foreigners coming into our country”.
When asked about Muslim people, Ahern said he does not “worry about this generation”, but he does worry about the “next generation and the kids growing up”.
“That’s when I think the problem will be. I said this to [justice minister] Jim O’Callaghan. That’s where the problem comes,” Ahern said.
The woman also told Ahern that she was also concerned about transgender issues and hate speech laws.
She then told him that she had recorded him and was going to post it on social media, because she believed it was “important that you’ve said that you disagree with Jim O’Callaghan”.
Ahern denied that he had disagreed with O’Callaghan, as the woman accused him of “not sticking up for the Irish”.
The woman then called Ahern a “liar” as he walked away from the door.
A spokesperson for Ahern told the Irish Examiner that “Bertie wasn’t aware he was being recorded until the end of the conversation”.
