Sinn Féin abandons “open border” rhetoric ahead of local and European elections – Walsh

Sinn Féin has abandoned its open border rhetoric days ahead of the local and European elections, Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh has said.

The party did not mention migration in its local election manifesto, while its European election manifesto drops the damaging rhetoric used by party leadership in recent weeks.

Speaking today, Ms Walsh said: “For the last few weeks, Sinn Féin has been distributing leaflets to every household in the country calling for an end to ‘open borders;.

“Last week, the party published its European election manifesto, and the language has vanished.

“Sinn Féin has been flip-flopping on the issue of migration for weeks. The rhetoric on open borders has been the most dangerous.

‘Sinn Féin have also opposed the majority of the EU Migration Pact.

“They are happy to speak about the failures of the EU on migration, but they continue to oppose any realistic progress in favour of political point scoring.

“That’s irresponsible politics – but also in keeping with Sinn Féin’s style,” MEP Walsh said.