Should asylum seekers/refugees face mandatory health screening when they arrive in Ireland?

# 85

Posted: 08/07/2008 00:04

yes i think they should be screened,but it should have been the case years ago when the first one came through the gates,and also irish returning from foreign countries to ensure they didnt bring home any extra presents.

# 84

Posted: 26/06/2008 21:37

I think it makes sence to screen all foreigners wanting to take up residence in Ireland for everyones sake including their own, isn't that why they come here

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jenny

# 83

Posted: 16/08/2007 22:41

Ann, Have you ever lived outside of Ireland?
If so, where and were you screened before you lived there?
I have lived in numerous countries and never had any screening done.

# 82

Posted: 16/08/2007 16:27

Yes of course they should have been screened 10 years ago when they first started their assault on this country, its a bit late now asking this question when one is scared witless of going into a hospital in fear of picking up the MRSA bug or worse, typical of the irish way, closing the stable door....

# 81

Posted: 16/08/2007 16:26

Yes of course they should have been screened 10 years ago when they first started comin ginto this country. It's a bit late now asking this question.

# 80

Posted: 02/08/2007 22:38

Strange this topic.
The recent problem with the families living on the roundabout who were sent home.
Half of them didn't even have passports.
If people can get into the country without a passport, then there is no chance of a screening program.

# 79

Posted: 30/07/2007 10:03

YES we should have a system to check anybody coming into Ireland to live for diseases, or they could have it done in their own country on applying to come here. It makes sense for the person themselves and for everybody else.

# 78

Posted: 28/07/2007 18:31

Yes they should. Other countries such as Australia have it.

# 77

Posted: 23/07/2007 22:10

Whilst I agree with a 'DEGREE' of screening for people coming into the country on a long term basis, I wonder, what happens, if, in the course of screening a person, it is found that they are suffering from a particular illness?
Do they then get deported because of it?

Furthermore, isn't it a bit of a farce talking about screening people who come into the country when we do not even have any screening programmes for those of us (indigenous) who live here!
Breast screening for women who live in the east and midlands and NOTHING in the west of Ireland.
Absolutely no screening programmes for cervical cancer and when you do go for one, the samples have to be sent to AMERICA (how mad is that).
No other screening programmes or preventative medical clinics anywhere in the country.

So, whether we want to admit it or not, talking about screening people coming into the country is actually inadvertently racist because we will then blame them for any rise in certain illnesses but because we do not have any screening programmes for the rest of us that live here all the time, we have no idea, whether these 'illnesses' were already here or not!

# 76

Posted: 21/07/2007 14:39

I don't think it to be racist for asylum seekers to have a mandatory health screen when they arrive in Ireland. It should be done if people come from a third world country and eastern europe where diseases that are commonplace there have been totally eradicated by the west years ago. It would benefit everyone from all walks of life. If anyone wants to emigrate to Australia, I believe one must have a strict medical before being allowed in. I really don't see a problem with it.

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angel

# 75

Posted: 29/09/2005 21:42

Certainly, if they come from countries known to have infectious diseases. It's not a racist thing. It also means they can be treated/get help immediately. Do you remember the Foot and Mouth disease when anyone arriving at an airport had to step into a chemical fluid if they had been on a farm. That wasn't racist; it was just being considerate to others in case of accidental transmission.

# 74

Posted: 30/06/2005 16:53

God forbid, these days a person cant utter a word about a non national & it is seen as a racist remark. Yes of course they should be giving a health screen. While they're at it, give them the free medical card, & all the other freebies us national low earners are refused. Why not, Ireland was always a land of do-gooders, always looking after everybody else but their own.

# 73

Posted: 22/06/2005 23:21

Of course! Health is more important than minor gripes about civil liberties.

# 72

Posted: 10/06/2005 08:39

I find it amazing the lengths some sick twisted idiots will go in order to play their racist card. Of course foreginers comming into this country should be screened, if these people come from areas that are know to contain infectious diseases. We have a responsibility to protect our own citizens. The persons colour, creed, or social status is irrelevent.

# 71

Posted: 02/06/2005 14:57

Some asylum seekers and refugees come from countries where the health service isn't as good as in Ireland (no sniggering please) and therefore, if we wish to be responsible towards the people we let into this country, we should screen people for certain diseases.

# 70

Posted: 29/05/2005 05:21

realist: a person who tends to represent things as they really are.
idealist: a person who represents things as they might be or should be rather than as they are.
Compassion is a good thing. But so is realism. There are diseases in this world that never even existed or at the very least, were never heard of, just a few decades ago. Some of them, like AIDS, ebola, and forms of MDR TB, are incurable. Would you invite a person off of the street into your home, if you knew nothing about their background, their health, their morals, etc. Your country is your home. Cherish it. Protect it. And in doing so, you will be compassionate to all those who came before you to make your country what it is.

# 69

Posted: 28/05/2005 05:21

This will be my last post, as I don't want to disrupt the discussion, and I do feel as though I am wearing out my welcome. I had one reason and one reason only for posting all of the information that I did regarding the link between lax immigration laws and communicable diseases and the overburdening of the infrastructure. I did so as a warning to those who may be unaware of what is going on in the USA and how it is affecting our country, and will affect yours, too.
I love my country. Unless you live in the USA in an area inundated with illegal immigrants, and see the effects, firsthand, it's hard to fathom.
I only wanted to hold up the USA as an example of what can and will befall any nation who is TOO compassionate, meaning that they do not look out for the welfare of their citizens FIRST and protect their quality of life when choosing who to allow to enter and make their home in the country. I wish you all good luck and remember........Rome wasn't built in a day.........and the United States did not fall in a day, either, but it's well on its way to doing just that. Peggy

# 68

Posted: 26/05/2005 15:10

Compassion: "sympathetic consciousness of others' distress, together with a desire to alleviate it." I don't believe that that can ever be misplaced. As per the Minuteman project, as we do not in Ireland allow the citizenry to unilaterally arm themselves, a group of armed vigilantes (definition:a member of a volunteer committee organized to suppress and punish crime summarily (as when the processes of law appear inadequate); broadly : a self-appointed doer of justice) would be considered in contravention of our laws.

# 67

Posted: 26/05/2005 12:15

Please stop typing in CAPS as it is visually the equivalent of shouting and has been proven to be more difficut to read.

# 66

Posted: 26/05/2005 03:38

First, the processing of immigrants on Ellis Island is a significant chapter in the much larger saga of the peopling of America. The questions asked of newcomers and the reasons for detention and rejection reveal Americans' shifting considerations and concerns about immigration generally and certain categories of newcomers in particular--the sick, the weak, criminals, and political dissidents. Second, the medical inspection of newcomers marks an important moment in the history of medicine and public health. On Ellis Island, uniformed physicians of the U.S. Marine Hospital Service (later the U.S. Public Health Service) sought to exclude harmful germs and debilitating physical conditions by excluding the newcomers whose very bodies might present a health menace or, at the very least, a burden to Americans. Third, the regulations and procedures set in place on Ellis Island and at other immigration depots epitomize a larger transformation taking place during the Progressive era in the role that federal authority would play in shaping American society and culture. In that sense, Ellis Island was one of the laboratories where the modern administrative state was realized.
THAT WAS THEN AND THIS IS NOW. CHARLOTTE, WHEN A COUNTRY OR ITS LEADERS LOSE ALL SIGHT OF WHAT MADE THIS COUNTRY A GREAT AND SAFE PLACE IN THE PAST, AND ACCEPT ANYONE WITH ANY DISEASE, ANYONE, REGARDLESS OF THEIR ABILITY TO SUPPORT THEMSELVES OR THEIR FAMILY, ANYONE, REGARDLESS OF THEIR CRIMINAL BACKGROUND, THEN THAT IS NOT HELPING EITHER THE COUNTRY OF THE CITIZENS OF THAT COUNTRY. I HAVE BEEN POSTING THE ITEMS AND THE OPINIONS THAT I HAVE IN HOPES THAT THE GOOD IRISH PEOPLE ON THIS SITE WILL SEE THE TRAVESTY OF THE USA'S LAX IMMIGRATION POLICIES AND RETHINK THEIR OWN. I LOVE MY COUNTRY, AND I WOULD NOT WANT IRELAND TO FOLLOW THE SAME PATH OF SELF-DESTRUCTION THAT WE HAVE, AT THE HANDS OF THOSE WHOSE "COMPASSION" IS MISPLACED. PEGGY

# 65

Posted: 25/05/2005 23:15

Charlotte, contrary to popular belief, it is not impossible to seal borders. I don\'t know if you have heard of the Minuteman Project (a very historical name, harkening back to patriots of yore). About 900 Americans, mostly elderly, from all walks of life, retired military, teachers, professors, scientists, doctors, who are fed up with the lax enforcement of our laws, and our porous borders, just proved that it is not impossible at all to \"seal\" one\'s borders.

# 64

Posted: 25/05/2005 23:05

Peggy, I'm not criticising America any more than I'm criticising any other Western style country. This site is called Irish Health. So by default, the discussion is about Irish and not American health. Disease exists and illness exists and borders are remarkably difficult to seal. This being the case, I feel that dealing with the issue and trying to help all sick people, including your father, would be a more practical and humane approach. Charlotte

Charlotte, you are totally missing my point. I am trying to warn you and your countrymen what comes of an openborders, come right on in, we accept everyone, policy. Is it HUMANE to have the citizens of one country infected with fatal and incurable diseases just for the sake of being "compassionate". I am holding up my country, which I love, as an example of what can and WILL happen to Ireland, or ANY OTHER COUNTRY who has an open door, no common sense applied policy. Compassion, as with charity.........begins at home. My "home" is being destroyed in the name of compassion. I hope Ireland does not meet the same fate, Charlotte.

# 63

Posted: 25/05/2005 13:19

Peggy, I\'m not criticising America any more than I\'m criticising any other Western style country. This site is called Irish Health. So by default, the discussion is about Irish and not American health. Disease exists and illness exists and borders are remarkably difficult to seal. This being the case, I feel that dealing with the issue and trying to help all sick people, including your father, would be a more practical and humane approach.
Charlotte

# 62

Posted: 25/05/2005 04:42

Charlotte, this is what being idealitic can do to a country. I hope the same doesn\'t befall the Emerald Isle. Peggy


Leprosy, a scourge in Biblical days and in medieval Europe, so horribly destroys flesh and faces it was called the \'disease of the soul.\'... Leprosy, Hansen\'s disease, was so rare in America that in 40 years only 900 people were afflicted. Suddenly, in the past three years America has more than 7,000 cases of leprosy. Leprosy now is endemic to northeastern states because illegal aliens and other immigrants brought leprosy from India, Brazil, the Caribbean, and Mexico.

Dengue fever is exceptionally rare in America, though common in Ecuador, Peru, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Mexico. Recently there was a virulent outbreak of dengue fever in Webb County, Texas, which borders Mexico....

Polio was eradicated from America, but now reappears in illegal immigrants, as do intestinal parasites. Malaria was obliterated, but now is re-emerging in Texas.... Asians number 4 percent of Americans, but account for more than half of Hepatitis B cases.

Immigrants on SSI, including legal aliens, refugees, and illegals with fraudulent Social Security cards, numbered a mere 127,900 aliens (3.3 percent of recipients) in 1982. By 1992 the numbers expanded to 601,430 entitled (10.9 percent of recipients). In 2003, this figure was several million (about 25 percent of recipients). The National Immigration Law Center (NILC) proudly announced that it garnered for immigrants expensive cancer treatments, prenatal care, and critical health services by means of its litigation....

Many illegals who cross our borders have tuberculosis. That disease had largely disappeared from America, thanks to excellent hygiene and powerful modern drugs such as isoniazid and rifampin.

TB\'s swift, deadly return now is lethal for about 60 percent of those infected because of new Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDRTB). Until recently MDR-TB was endemic to Mexico....

TB was virtually absent in Virginia until in 2002, when it spiked a 17 percent increase, but Prince William County, just south of Washington, D.C., had a much larger rise of 188 percent. Public health officials blamed immigrants. In 2001 the Indiana School of Medicine studied an outbreak of MDR-TB, and traced it to Mexican illegal aliens. The Queens, New York, health department attributed 81 percent of new TB cases in 2001 to immigrants....

Chagas disease, also called American trypanosomiasis or \'kissing bug\' disease is transmitted by the reduviid bug, which prefers to bite the lips and face. The protozoan parasite that it carries, infects 18 million people annually in Latin America and causes 50,000 deaths. This disease also infiltrates America\'s blood supply.

# 61

Posted: 25/05/2005 04:06

Who mentioned crime? If you read back along my posts I'm in favour of testing for the purposes of identifying and treating diseases. I'm not in favour of arbitrarily handing out implicit death sentences if there is something we can do to avoid it, without endangering everyone.
CHARLOTTE, I AM WELL AWARE OF THE WAY THAT THE AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES WORK.AND I AM TOTALLY AGAINST IT....THE OUTRAGEOUS PRICES WE PAY FOR DRUGS HERE IN THE US, WHEN THE SAME DRUG CAN BE OBTAINED IN MEXICO OR CANADA FOR A FRACTION OF THE COST. HOWEVER, AIDS IS LARGELY A PREVENTABLE DISEASE. IS IT UP TO AMERICANS TO PUT A CONDOM ON EVERY PERSON IN EVERY COUNTRY WHO CHOOSES TO HAVE UNPROTECTED OR PROMISCUOUS SEX? AMERICA IS ALWAYS THE FIRST COUNTRY THERE WHEN THERE IS A DISASTER OF ANY PROPORTION, YET WE'RE SLAMMED AROUND THE WORLD BECAUSE WE DON'T KEEP OUR NOSES OUT OF OTHER PEOPLE'S BUSINESS.
WE GIVE BILLIONS IN AID TO OTHER COUNTRIES, YET WE HAVE MANY PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY WHO CAN NOT AFFORD HEALTH INSURANCE, WE HAVE MANY PEOPLE WHO WILL DIE FROM DISEASES THAT ARE THE RESULT OF THE FAILURE OF OUR POLITICANS TO MAKE AND ENACTE LAWS TO PROTECT US FROM PEOPLE COMING INTO THIS COUNTRY WITH COMMUNICABLE DISEASES. OUR VETERANS, WHO HAVE LAID THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE FOR THIS COUNTRY, HAVE TO WAIT UP TO A YEAR TO BE SEEN AT A VA HOSPITAL. YET WE CAN SEND BILLIONS AROUND THE WORLD, WHILE THEY LANGUISH AND DIE WAITING FOR AN APPOINTMENT WITH A DOCTOR.

· I believe the concept of punishing a person for being sick is wrong. · I believe that arbitrarily sending a person who is sick back to a country where there are no medical facilities is sentencing that person to die.
AND I BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE HAVE ABDICATED ALL PERSONAL RESPOSIBILTY FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS THAT MAY RESULT IN THEM HAVING A TERMINAL ILLNESS. AND I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT THE BABIES THAT ARE BEING RAPED IN AFRICA BY MEN WHO HAVE AIDS, I AM TALKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO ENGAGE IN RISKY BEHAVIORS THAT MAY RESULT IN THEM HAVING, OR SPREADING, A TERMINAL ILLNESS. WHAT WOULD MAKE YOU HAPPY? IF EVERY AMERICAN GOT SUBSTANDARD HEALTHCARE (WHICH MAY BE A REALITY IN THE NEAR FUTURE)SO THAT EVERYONE IN A COUNTRY IN WHICH WE HAVE NO CONTROL, IN WHICH PEOPLE DO THINGS THAT BRING DISEASES UPON THEMSELVES, COULD HAVE US PAY FOR THEIR CARE? THERE ARE PLENTY OF AMERICANS WHO DIE EVERY DAY WAITING FOR AN ORGAN TRANSPLANT, YET WE ALLOW PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT EVEN HERE IN THIS COUNTRY ILLEGALLY TO GO TO THE HEAD OF THE LINE AND RECEIVE A LIVER OR A KIDNEY THAT COULD HAVE SAVED THE LIFE OF AN AMERICAN? AMERICANS ARE SOME OF THE MOST GENEROUS, AND MOST MALIGNED PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD. WE ARE PERCEIVED AS HORRIBLE PEOPLE AND WE ARE HATED LARGELY DUE TO THE ACTIONS OF OUR POLITICANS, WHO ARE THE ONES WHO SHOULD BE DESPISED, NOT THE AVERAGE, EVERY DAY AMERICAN WHO IS JUST TRYING TO MAKE ENDS MEET. WHY, DO YOU KNOW THAT OUR ILLUSTRIOUS "LEADERS" JUST PASSED A LAW THAT OUR TAX DOLLARS MUST PROVIDE VIAGRA TO CONVICTED SEX OFFENDERS? YET MY FATHER, WHO IS DYING OF CANCER, CAN NOT GET A PHYSICIAN TO WRITE A PRESCRIPTION FOR HIM FOR HYDRAZINE SULFATE, A DRUG WHICH COULD POSSIBLY STOP THE WASTING SYNDROME THAT IS PART AND PARCEL OF CANCER. THAT DRUG HAS BEEN SUPPRESSED AND MALIGNED BECAUSE IT IS INEXPENSIVE AND IS NOT A BIG MONEY MAKER FOR THE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES.
· I believe that the costs of medication is artificially high and kept so by western-style economies (that would include modern Japan). · I believe that turning a blind eye is participating in letting sick people die because it is economically expedient to do so. It is estimated that 25% of children born in South Africa are HIV positive. 1 in 10 adults in SA are HIV positive. The U.S. Census Bureau HIV projection models for SA predict by 2010 life expectancy may drop to 37 years for women and 38 for men— a decline of more than 50 percent in a decade. That's one country! This is the world we live in. We control the prices of medication. We are a part the problem. We can at least try to be a part of the solution. Remember idealism? It was what you felt before the world showed you that no one would help you except yourself. All I'm asking is that we try. "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?" Robert Browning.
AGAIN, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE US DO FOR ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE IN AFRICA WHO HAVE BROUGHT THE HORRIBLE SCOURGE OF AIDS UPON THEMSELVES BY ENGAGING IN RISKY BEHAVIOR? IS IT THE FAULT OF EVERY AMERICAN THAT THIS IS HAPPENING, CHARLOTTE. THOSE PEOPLE HAVE SENTENCED THEMSELVES TO DEATH, AND WE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT, YET YOU SEEM TO EXPECT US TO BE THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD. HOWEVER, I DO AGREE WITH YOU, AS I STATED ABOVE, REGARDING THE OUTRAGEOUS PRICES FOR MEDICATION.
AS FOR IDEALISM, I SUGGEST YOU THINK A MOMENT ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IDEALISM AND REALISM. THE REALITY OF THE WORLD SITUATION, OR ANY SITUATION FOR THAT MATTER, IS THAT PEOPLE CAN ONLY CHANGE THEMSELVES. IF A MAN IN AFRICA CHOOSES TO RAPE A CHILD BECAUSE HE FEELS THAT WILL CLEANSE HIM OF THE AIDS VIRUS, HOW CAN WE STOP SOMETHING LIKE THAT? THAT IS A CULTURAL NORM THAT EVEN OUR BEST EFFORTS AT EDUCATION HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO CHANGE. I AM SO VERY TIRED OF AMERICA AND AMERICANS BEING SEEN AS THE VILLIANS OF THE WORLD.
IF YOU WANT TO SEE VILLAINS, LOOK NO FURTHER THAN WASHINGTON, TO THOSE WHO HAVE MADE THE POLICIES THAT HAVE RUINED THIS COUNTRY, THAT HAVE MADE A MOCKERY OF OUR CONSTITUTION, THAT HAVE LED TO THE DISSOLUTION OF OUR SOVEREIGNTY AS A NATION.........

# 60

Posted: 24/05/2005 16:15

Who mentioned crime? If you read back along my posts I'm in favour of testing for the purposes of identifying and treating diseases. I'm not in favour of arbitrarily handing out implicit death sentences if there is something we can do to avoid it, without endangering everyone.
· I believe the concept of punishing a person for being sick is wrong.
· I believe that arbitrarily sending a person who is sick back to a country where there are no medical facilities is sentencing that person to die.
· I believe that the costs of medication is artificially high and kept so by western-style economies (that would include modern Japan).
· I believe that turning a blind eye is participating in letting sick people die because it is economically expedient to do so.
It is estimated that 25% of children born in South Africa are HIV positive. 1 in 10 adults in SA are HIV positive. The U.S. Census Bureau HIV projection models for SA predict by 2010 life expectancy may drop to 37 years for women and 38 for men— a decline of more than 50 percent in a decade. That's one country! This is the world we live in. We control the prices of medication. We are a part the problem. We can at least try to be a part of the solution. Remember idealism? It was what you felt before the world showed you that no one would help you except yourself. All I'm asking is that we try.

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?" Robert Browning.

# 59

Posted: 24/05/2005 04:36

And I'm very sleepy, .....I think I said that the Chinese weren't so nice to the Japanese and I meant it the other way around........ooops.going to sleep now.....hope you will ponder my comments and those of you who may have visited the states that are having the most problems with TB and other communicable diseases (i.e. Texas, California, Florida, NY, AZ, etc) are the states that are having the highest influx of illegal immigrants.
Good night to you all from across the pond. Peggy

# 58

Posted: 24/05/2005 04:28

Charlotte, I beg to differ with you. Self -preservation is not a crime. People are correct to have a healthy fear of diseases that have no cure, diseases that can not be detected (until an autopsy, like chagas). Western civilisation has given much to mankind as a whole. The Japanese were not so kind to the Chinese, so Western civilisations have no handle on uncivilized behavior. Doctors in America are not used to seeing diseases such as Hansen's (leprosy), therefore, those who are infected with it here in the USA have been misdiagnosed and remain untreated, spreading the disease to others. I think Western civilisation, particularly, the United States, has been more than generous with their donations of both money and medical supplies. At some point, we have to realize that we can not take in the entire world, we can not be policemen of the world. It is not a case of "sending them back to the old country", it is a case of using logic and common sense regarding who we allow to come into this country in the first place. And for the past three decades, the policies regarding immigration in the USA have done nothing to protect the citizens of this country.

# 57

Posted: 23/05/2005 18:01

Fear is a weapon of mass destruction. So is inaction. Sending "them" back to the old country is no longer feasible. And given that a pandemic flu strain was accidentally sent to influenza labs around the world as part of a testing kit by Meridian Bioscience, a contractor for the College of American Pathologists, how safe are you at home?
Given that the vast majority of wealth and availability of medication is in the Western world it's hardly surprising that another human being who is suffering (or who's loved one are suffering) will try to get to where these drugs are available. If you deny the rest of mankind access to the medication, either by lack of geographic or financial access, you are inviting trouble. Oddly enough the same goes for clean water, unpolluted air etc. Civilizations rise and fall faster these days. Would it not be a terrible thing for the western world to have to beg the emerging Asian/African economies for medical aid in 50-100 years time? Would it not be terrible if they refused? Remember the basic lessons of childhood.
"Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours." Western cultures still haven't figured out the basics of civilized behaviour.

# 56

Posted: 22/05/2005 19:34

http://www.newswithviews.com/Cosman/madeleine3.htm

Here is another article detailing the problems that we are having in America because we have abandoned all reason and do not screen people in any way, shape or form before they enter this country. Please read and pass along to the voice of reason in your country, and God help you if your politicians are as uncaring and your citizens as apathetic as we are here. Peggy

# 55

Posted: 22/05/2005 19:25

Hi, I\'m across the pond, in FL, USA, and as the granddaughter of immigrants who came here from Scotland and Italy and passed through Ellis Island, I want to warn you in the Ireland that we are facing a great healthcare crisis here because of our lax immigration policies. For example, diseases which were previously eradicated in this country are back with a vengeance, i.e. multi-drug resistant TB, which is being primarily brought into this country by immigrants, both legal and illegal, from Mexico and Asia. Leprosy, now known as Hansen\'s disease, is now endemic to the United States for the first time in the history of our country. New disease, like Chagas, which is being carried in from South and Central America, have no cure and a very long incubation period. There is NOTHING racist about the citizens of a country wanting to protect their quality of life. Unfortunately in the USA, the politicians and the those of a liberal mindset no longer use any common sense at all when they allow people to enter this country. 9/11 is not the only form of terrorism that we are seeing........this country in in shambles and I hope that the Irish people will have more sense than their American cousins and wake up before it\'s too late. Best wishes from across the pond. Peggy

# 54

Posted: 13/03/2004 00:25

Yes. There should be no objection to health screening. This is not racist (it is amazing how the slightest sensible measure is immediately jumped upon as racist!) And your attempts at irony are very poor Yarrum. It is you who should grow up! And your attitude could do with some improvement too.

# 53

Posted: 01/12/2003 19:39

Hi Charalette,
I honestly think you are fighting a loosing battle here. If you look at the preference from the people who say yes! and no! on this issue.I honestly believe all people from all parts of the globe should be screened before entering any country. I also believe for their own protection and health it should be done in their own country and at their own expence. It's been some years now since I was abroad .but,I always took the wright precautions as going to my GP and getting the necessary jabs for these trips. I think in some cases, som people will try and turn this issue into a racist vote. I think is totally blown out of all proportion. I believe yes ! all people should be screened before entering Ireland. I believe too that Irish people re entering Ireland after being abscent for some years should be also screened. So if you come from Timbucktoo or or America or anywhere for that matter people on the whole you should be screened before entering any country.

# 52

Posted: 26/11/2003 12:55

I was talking to a collegue in the US yesterday on the phone. The poor guy was dying of flu. I told him we in Ireland pretty much figure it's normal to have flu at this time of year. He replied he's from North Africa and so has immunity to certain illness, but not to anything that's related to damp conditions. So to reverse the issue, testing and medical checks would also allow for people coming into this country who are being put at risk by the native population, due to our own native brands of illness. God help anyone going through 6 months of a drippy nose because they've arrived in damp old Ireland!

# 51

Posted: 11/11/2003 23:02

Yes they should as long as it will not be held over a person and used for exclusion purposes. I think many people coming here especially form Africa, come form areas where there are very real health problems so I think health screening and care should be offered to people to improve their health and cure them .

# 50

Posted: 05/11/2003 15:12

This person, liam (mail4liam) is the same dick head (with apologies to dicks everywhere) whose rabit rantings show up in various parts of this excellent site. I suppose it would be asking too much to have him barred, but a nice thought nonetheless!

# 49

Posted: 03/11/2003 20:52

Yes,I think it's a necessary safeguard for themselves as well as the country.

# 48

Posted: 15/10/2003 01:01

i would think so , this is a small island. and therefore we have a small data base in realtion to virus contamination.every tom, dick and harry, including every non national, eastern european, hispanic, deep african, and all african things be subjict to rigiorus tests to eleminate serious control breeches of international health protocols being abused in the present situation.

# 47

Posted: 09/10/2003 15:02

I agree with screening. It is not racist, just common sense. Many of these people will have never seen a doctor and isn't it better that they know they have something rather than not knowing. It is not racist, we all know Africa is riddled with HIV/AIDS and as many of these people are having their babies in our hospitals, isn't it better that the doctors know? I know of a person who went into a hospital in this country to have a baby and could not get the private room she had paid for as they were all taken up by refugees who had diseases which the doctors felt would put other women in the ward at risk so kept them separate......

# 46

Posted: 09/10/2003 14:31

I was chatting over last weekendto a friend of mine who is living and working in Dublin, married to an Irish man for the past 7 years. They had gone on holidays to her home country, and he was commenting on how wierd, stressful and odd it was to be the only white person around. I'm sure that all non-white people in Ireland are under the same stress, of being instantly recognised as 'probably not Irish'. However, that statement of 'probably not Irish' also carries the connotation of 'probably an asylum seeker' regardless of whether or not htis it true. Imagine a situation where you are abused in the street, followed by calls of 'you're taking our money, our jobs, drinking our pints and shagging our women, blah, blah, blah', when you know that your taxes are paying that person's dole! While we might like to think, as open-minded people, that this doesn't happen, and that what we are discussing here is a health only issue, the fact is that it must have rac connotations, due to the fact that Irish people in general beleive that anyone non-white in Ireland is probably an asylum seeker. I'm begining to think that maybe the only way to improve the reaction to anyone non-white in Ireland is to blur the issue of colour. If we were to make a concerted effort to recruit non-white professionals into Ireland, it might blur the issue. To blunt the racist tendencies of some sections of Irish society, do you think they'd be less likely to insult and abuse indivuduals because of their colour if there was a chance that the potential victim of abuse might be the bank manager signing their mortgage papers, or a medical person signing their prescriptions, or the person teaching their kids. I know this sounds like positive discrimination, which most people dislike, but I'm coming at it from the angle of saving the Irish culture. We are stagnating, by comparison to other countries, in terms of our integration as a community. We need to integrate at all levels of society. I beleieve Ireland needs the benefits of positive discriminition, so that in another generation or so, the concept of someone being Irish, regardless of the outward packaging, is a norm. Our kids should know that, even if there are large patches of their parents who will just have to die before racism peters out of Irish society. Does anyone think that would help to bring this discussion issue, and others equally important, back to being about the subject, and not about the colour?