How Ireland's newest political parties responding to immigration issues

European Election posters in Dublin. ©AP Photo

Immigration tops the political agenda for the first time in Ireland's history.

At least four new Irish political parties, critical of the federal government's immigration policy, are contesting the forthcoming European elections in June.

The parties say they are not opposed to immigration but feel the Irish government has been too liberal on the issue.

Ireland has a population of five million with nearly one million entering the country since the mid-1990s.

The new crop of political parties is responding to numerous events that have plagued the city's capital.

In May, the government moved to dismantle tents occupied by the ballooning number of asylum seekers in Dublin. This was six months after dozens were arrested as the city was set alight by far-right riots fuelled by anti-immigrant rhetoric.

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