This year’s local election witnessed an unprecedented number of elected councillors originating from immigrant backgrounds. The rate of representation in county councils nationwide has dramatically increased with a significant number of candidates either foreign-born or children of parents born abroad.
With only a few seats still to fill on Tuesday and counting ongoing, Brian Killoran, head of the Immigration Council of Ireland, predicted the final count would reveal up to 21 councillors from immigrant backgrounds. He stated, “Once the final results are in, we anticipate a total of 21, by our estimations.”
New election outcomes demonstrate a loss for sitting MEPs Ciarán Cuffe and Clare Daly in Dublin, whilst John Moran is named as the new Mayor of Limerick. Out of the 949 councillors chosen in the election, roughly over 2% can now be traced back to migrant origins, a sharp rise from nine in 2019.
An outstanding total of over 100 candidates with migrant origins stood for council positions in the June 7th election, compared to only 56 from five years prior. This influx of fresh faces included a successful father-son pairing from south Dublin.
Victorious in Tallaght South and from the Fine Gael party, Baby Pereppadan commented that the chances of winning this year were heightened owing to the city’s increased population of people with immigrant backgrounds. The newly-appointed councillor is joined in South Dublin County Council by his son, Britto Pereppadan, who tasted victory for his first campaign in Tallaght Central.
Expressing his excitement, Baby Pereppadan shared, “Both my son and I are thrilled with the opportunity to serve our constituents.” Migrating from Kerala in India to Ireland in 2001, Pereppadan witnessed a stark contrast to his unsuccessful independent candidacy in 2009, losing by just 65 votes.
He observed the heightened number of immigrant candidates over the years, predicting continued growth in the future, stating, “In the past, immigrant candidates were scarce, but nowadays, the numbers have spiked and are set to keep growing.”
Following his victory, Pereppadan joined the Fine Gael party in 2019, earning serious recognition from the public. However, his journey wasn’t without challenges, facing instances of racial discrimination, including an act of vandalism to his vehicle during his 2009 campaign.
Pereppadan has identified rising antisocial behaviour in specific city areas as a key issue requiring immediate attention, which he plans to address in his new role.
Feljin Jose, a representative for the Green Party who recently earned a position on the Dublin City Council for Cabra-Glasnevin, has experienced an uptick in antisocial behaviour and racist incidents. Jose, originally from India, relocated to Ireland when he was just nine years old.
He recounted, “Although it was rough before, it has shown improvement this year. Having received encouraging feedback from the majority of the population following 2019, it motivated me to take part in the election this time around.”
However, over the last few months, the virtual insults escalated into physical altercations. He revealed, “An elderly man even spat towards me during a campaign. I was not only subjected to an onslaught of online negativity but also faced public verbal abuse and intimidation, with perpetrators hurling insults and commanding me to return to India”.
Jose also recounted receiving menacing messages on WhatsApp and described the election climate as “toxic”. In his view, the key to fostering a safer and more hospitable city is to encourage more diversity in Irish politics. “We need a wider spectrum of diversity to work towards the objective of a safe and habitable city,” he advocated.