Minister tells India that Ireland "doesn't share" Trump's view on immigration- despite recent polls

Colm Brophy TD in India this week

Niall Feiritear

A Fine Gael politician has spent the past week in India focusing on "migration pathways" to Ireland, whilst telling Indian newspapers that Ireland "doesn't share" Donald Trump's view on immigration.

Two months ago, in November 2025, a Red C poll in Ireland reported 72% of respondents wanted to see a crackdown on immigration. Donald Trump has been cracking down on immigration since he came back into office.

Colm Brophy is the Irish Minister currently in charge of Migration.

He told the Indian Express newspaper on Thursday that Ireland is "excited how we can deepen and strengthen the ties."

He also spoke about contingencies for Indian people to become Irish citizens and their integration into Ireland.

"As a EU member state, we will be introducing a new regulation. It originally comes from the European Union Migration Act and will be introduced into Irish law as well under a separate legislation.

"This will harmonise the process by which we will handle migration in some areas, in terms of international protection. More people are coming from India to Ireland to work… to study. So we will launch later this year, a new policy on migration and integration.

"It will be about managing the overall numbers, how people when they come into Ireland are given opportunities to work, and giving people — who’ve been here a long time — the opportunity to attain our citizenship."

Brophy then referenced the Donald Trump, who has cracked down hugely on migration into America.

"Well, the US President has taken a particular viewpoint as to how he wants to handle inward migration in his country. It’s not a viewpoint, I think, that’s shared by us in Ireland, and it’s not a viewpoint that’s shared, I believe, by many other European states."

Further comments this week included:

“I am delighted to visit India and Abu Dhabi. These visits underline the Government’s commitment to international engagement and to strengthening co-operation with key global partners. India, in particular, is a vital partner for Ireland.

"I also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the exceptional work of our staff in the visa offices in New Delhi and Abu Dhabi. The New Delhi visa office, as Ireland's largest visa operation outside the State, reflects the scale and importance of Ireland's relationship with the region and the vital role our visa services play in facilitating mobility.”

New Govt jet

The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs added his "engagements will focus on progressing the objectives of the Government’s strategies, including trade and investment, legal migration pathways, education links, and co-operation on shared priorities at EU level."

Back in November, Mattie McGrath TD said that the Red C poll showed that “the people are leading the way on the immigration issue, as they have been for a long time”, and added that he and a small group of TDs had been “vilified and subjected to abuse both in the Dáil and the media” when they “stood with the public” on oppositon to “mass immigration”.

“This is not the first poll, nor will it be the last one, to show that the people want action to stop what has been happening in relation to immigration,” he said. “Anyone who wanted a debate was shouted down and attacked even though the polls show – and showed – that the public agreed with us.”

The Business Post newspaper who commissioned the poll from Red C stated that the response to the question on migration “showed an overwhelming public support for a crackdown on immigration”.

Some 72 per cent of voters support recent justice department moves to make immigration more difficult for people coming or trying to stay in Ireland.Only 11 per cent said they were opposed to the proposals, while a combined 16 per cent said they felt neutral on the matter or were unsure.

The latest poll shows strong support among the bases of both government parties for a tougher stance on migration; 77 per cent of Fianna Fáil voters said they supported the measures, along with 75 per cent of Fine Gael’s voters.

Try telling that to Brophy on his private jet.