Leader Peter O'Loughlin | ||
Founded 22 July 2015; 19 months ago (2015-07-22) Ideology Anti-immigration / Anti-mass immigrationAnti-IslamisationNationalismRight-wing populismEuroscepticism Address Suite 5068,5 Fitzwilliam Square East, Dublin 2, Ireland | ||
Identity Ireland (Irish: Aithenteas Éire) is a political party in Ireland. It was launched in Dublin on 22 July 2015. Its founders are Gary Allen, Peter O'Loughlin and Alan Tighe. O'Loughlin is the party's national spokesperson.
Contents
Policy
Identity Ireland argues for a return to Irish sovereignty and to the Irish pound. The party supports a controlled border policy in order to curtail the mass immigration that, it says, is putting strain on the Irish welfare system. It also supports more careful vetting of incoming asylum seekers. It supports the Irish branch of Pegida, and has joined the Fortress Europe coalition. It advocates the introduction of a two strike law for serious offences, as well as the re-introduction of penal labour. It supports keeping Ireland's neutrality. It is in favour of Brexit.
Election results
Before joining Identity Ireland, Peter O'Loughlin unsuccessfully contested the European Parliament election, 2014 for the South constituency, with 1.00% of the first preference votes. He also unsuccessfully contested the Carlow-Kilkenny by-election, 2015, receiving 1.4% (930) of the first preference votes.
Most recently O'Loughlin ran in the 2016 Irish general election in the Cork North-Central constituency as an independent, where he came last earning only 0.36% (183) of first preference votes.
Another party member, Ted Neville, ran as an independent candidate in four previous elections in the Cork South-Central constituency. He has appeared on television to discuss immigration, both as a member of Identity Ireland and a member of the Immigration Control Platform group.
Registration
As of January 2017, Identity Ireland was recorded in the Oireachtas Register of Political Parties, though as an organisation that had "not yet responded to commission's enquiries" by the Standards in Public Office Commission.
Reception
Identity Ireland has been accused of being racist. Some of its press conferences and meetings, and its launch, have been disrupted by protesters.
However, the party claims that after its launch, membership went up by 25%. (before the launch it had 115 members) Party leader Peter O'Loughlin was invited to speak at the first Pegida rally of 2016 in Dresden, Germany. In January 2016, the party was criticized for suggesting a local Muslim community leader be tossed into the Irish Sea. A spokesperson for Identity Ireland subsequently stated that it did not intend to advocate violence, and that the phrase "f@ck him into the Irish sea" was intended as a euphemism.