A by-election candidate who previously claimed that asylum seekers arriving in Ireland could be “possibly infiltrated by ISIS” has defended her views in a new interview. Verona Murphy, who ran as a Fine Gael candidate in the Wexford by-election in November, insisted that she has more experience than most when it comes to “the migrant issue”.
She went on to argue that she was “raising a security issue” when she made her previous comments. And given this, she put forward the possibility of a London Bridge-type attack in Ireland.
ISIS infiltration
Murphy was being interviewed on South East Radio when she made the most recent comments. It was her first interview since she failed to get elected and since she made comments linking asylum seekers to ISIS.
In an interview with RTÉ in November she stated that asylum seekers arriving in Ireland would have to be “deprogrammed” due to the influence of ISIS.
During a subsequent interview with the Irish Times she went further, telling the paper that ISIS supporters make up “a big part of the migrant population” in Ireland. Given this, she insisted that Ireland had to protect itself.
Experience of “the migrant issue”
In the new interview with South East Radio she defended her previous comments. She asserted that she was “raising a security issue”. Murphy said she had taken part in security briefings by MI5 and Interpol about migration issues. As president of the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) she maintained that she was “at the coalface” of the issue. And because of this, she contended:
I doubt anybody in Dáil has as much experience of the migrant issue as I have
She went on to put forward the possibility of terrorist attack in Ireland, saying
Do we have to wait to have a London Bridge incident on Wexford Bridge?
The failed election candidate also criticised the reporting of her original comments, saying they “have been misrepresented entirely in the media”.
Deselection
Murphy was deselected as a general election candidate for Fine Gael earlier in the week. She related that this was due to “a difference of opinion” on “the migrant issue”.
Based on her comments in the new interview the minister for health, Simon Harris, said the decision to deselect Murphy was “looking better by the moment”. Murphy hit back, accusing Harris of being “one of the worst ministers for health” Ireland has had.
Featured image via Twitter
