Immigration Control Platform (ICP) ( ga, An Feachtas um Smacht ar Inimirce) is a political group which seeks to restrict

immigration to Ireland Republic of Ireland, Ireland had a population of 5,123,536 at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census. Demographic history The island of Ireland’s population has fluctuated over history. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, Ireland experi ...

. The organisation's website describes it as an "Irish

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

" funded by subscriptions and donations. It was not registered in Ireland as a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

, but between 2002 and 2011 it ran non-party candidates in elections, with their election material displaying the Immigration Control Platform branding.

Positions and organisation

The ICP has not applied for political party status, although it is registered as a "Third Party" by the Standards in Public Office Commission Its website describes it as a "voluntary organisation" for which: *"The aim of the organisation is to address the phenomenon of immigration to Ireland and to lobby Government for a tight immigration policy", *"The organisation aims at a very rigorous policy in relation to asylum-seekers, refugees, and a determined response to all illegal immigration", and that, *"No one who holds views of racial superiority is welcome in the group." ICP's main activities are writing

letters to newspapers A letter to the editor (LTE) is a letter sent to a publication about an issue of concern to the reader. Usually, such letters are intended for publication. In many publications, letters to the editor may be sent either through conventional mai ...

, issuing

press release A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. Press releases are also considere ...

s, and maintaining a website. It has also issued leaflets and occasionally held small protests and pickets. It has an executive committee elected by its membership at an annual meeting. It claims to be funded by membership fees and private donations. Its leaders have described it as a

single-issue Single-issue politics involves political campaigning or political support based on one essential policy area or idea. Political expression One weakness of such an approach is that effective political parties are usually coalitions of factions ...

group. Historian Judith Pryor interprets its policy as favouring white immigrants over non-whites. ICP denies being

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

. ICP has no policy on Irish

illegal immigration to the United States Illegal immigration to the United States is the process of migrating into the United States in violation of federal immigration laws. This can include foreign nationals (aliens) who have entered the United States unlawfully, as well as thos ...

, an issue sometimes linked with immigration to Ireland. ICP candidate Ted Neville had himself spent time illegally in the United States.

History

ICP's most prominent member is Áine Ní Chonaill, whose official title is

public relations officer The public relations officer (PRO) or chief communications officer (CCO) or corporate communications officer is a C-suite level officer responsible for communications, public relations, and/or public affairs in an organization. Typically, the CCO ...

. A schoolteacher from

Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is located at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population as of 2016 was 4,592. Th ...

, she stood in Cork South-West in the 1997 general election as an independent on an anti-immigration platform, winning 0.84% of the first-preference vote. The election came early in the

Celtic Tiger The "Celtic Tiger" ( ga, An Tíogar Ceilteach) is a term referring to the economy of the Republic of Ireland, economy of Ireland from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, a period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment. ...

economic boom and an increase in

asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and mi ...

from Eastern Europe and further afield. ICP was founded at a meeting organised by Ní Chonaill in

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

on 13 January 1998. The meeting was disrupted by

anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate a ...

activists, and the venues of later ICP conferences were not disclosed in advance. In 1999 ICP did not run any candidates in that year's

European Parliament elections Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are considered the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Unti ...

, however the group campaigned against

Proinsias De Rossa Proinsias De Rossa (born 15 May 1940) is a former Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Social Welfare from 1994 to 1997, Leader of Democratic Left from 1992 to 1999 and Leader of the Workers' Party from 1988 to 1992. He s ...

of the Labour Party, claiming it would be disastrous for Ireland if he was elected to the European Parliament because of his pro-immigrant views. De Rossa's candidacy was successful despite the ICP's efforts. In 2002 the leader of the far-right

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...

Nick Griffin Nicholas John Griffin (born 1 March 1959) is a British politician and white supremacist who represented North West England as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2009 to 2014. He served as chairman and then president of the far-righ ...

encouraged Irish voters to support Immigrant Control Platform and offered financial aid to the organisation. Journalist

Harry McGee Harry McGee is the political correspondent with ''The Irish Times''. He has previously worked for several publications, including being political editor of the ''Irish Examiner'', as well as jobs with the ''Sunday Tribune'', the '' Sunday Press ...

in 2003 described Irish media coverage of ICP as disproportionate to its small size and generally hostile to its views. ICP has refused to tell the media or Oireachtas how many members it has. In 2003 Ní Chonaill along with then-chairman John Oakes attended a discussion on immigration at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights. Ní Chonaill felt that a January 2003 Supreme Court decision, which permitted deportation of illegal immigrants with Irish-born children, did not go far enough. ICP supported the successful 2004 referendum which restricted

citizenship by birth ''Jus soli'' ( , , ; meaning "right of soil"), commonly referred to as birthright citizenship, is the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship. ''Jus soli'' was part of the English common law, in contras ...

, a practice ICP said encouraged

birth tourism Birth tourism is the practice of traveling to another country for the purpose of giving birth in that country. The main reason for birth tourism is to obtain citizenship for the child in a country with birthright citizenship (''jus soli''). Such ...

by pregnant illegal immigrants. After 2011, ICP stopped running candidates in general elections and refocused the organisation as an "NGO". Ní Chonaill and Ted Neville of ICP spoke at the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality on 1 April 2015. During that meeting Anne Ferris was made to withdraw a comment comparing ICP's views to

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

Elections

;Note:

General election results

References

External links