The scale of immigration that took place In Ireland in the last decade and a half was higher per capita than in any other country in the western world

John Spain discusses some of the effects that immigration has had on Ireland:

Was that necessarily a good thing, given the pressure that schools, hospitals and our welfare system are now under? Or was it another mistake that we made during the Celtic Tiger years?

Even though we are continually told that multi-culturalism is good for us, have Irish people the right to say that, actually, they preferred the way things used to be? And if they do, does that make them racist?

Let's take one example. The relentless propaganda about the benefits of multi-culturalism makes little impression on many parents in areas here where there is a high concentration of immigrants.

In commuter towns and suburbs around Dublin and other cities, there is particular pressure on schools which have a high number of immigrant children who do not have English as a first language or who have no English at all.

In some classes in primary schools, more than half the children may have little or no English, which means the teacher takes much longer to get through lessons. This means that the progress of the Irish kids is much slower that it used to be.

Of course there were promises of extra language support teachers for these schools, but the resources available are a fraction of what would be needed to deal with the situation.

How would you, as the parent of an Irish child, feel if you were confronted with this problem, especially if you realize that that it could mean that your child will still be behind when he or she leaves school and tries to get a college place or a job?

That's what multi-culturalism means in practice in some areas here. No one denies that being able to get a flavor of other cultures is interesting. But the happy clappy propaganda that insists multi-culturalism is creating a far better new Ireland does not convince many people who deal with it on the ground on a daily basis.

Schools are just one area where this pressure is visible. There is intense competition for the few jobs that become available, with downward pressure on wages.

The lines outside welfare payment offices get longer. The overcrowding in hospitals gets worse.

Rightly or wrongly, our high level of immigration is now perceived by many of the people who have expressed support for former Mayor Scully as part of the problem, especially since the economy has tanked and state spending on all kinds of services is shrinking fast.

Unfortunately, the Irish media - likes it counterpart in the United States - seems set on turning every predominantly white nation into a Third World hellhole in the name of diversity.