Leo Varadkar says immigration was 'always going to become centre-stage in Irish politics'

In a wide-ranging interview on the Late Late Show on Friday, former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the rise of the “populist right” was a concern for Ireland, and that immigration was “always going to become centre-stage in Irish politics”.

Varadkar joined host Patrick Kielty to discuss leaving office, personal life, and current issues, including the topic of immigration.

Explaining his view of migration becoming an inevitable political topic in Ireland, Varadkar pointed to examples abroad, saying "it’s just the way politics is going.

"We saw it for Donald Trump’s election in 2016 when he was going to build the wall and all of that bizarre stuff. We saw it (in the UK) and they have their rather strange Rwanda plan in which they’ve spent €500m but not sent a single person back yet,” he said.

“Don’t get me wrong, migration is a serious issue, it’s an important topic. We need to have debate about it, we need to have a policy on it.

“But it needs to be done in a way that is respectful, that doesn’t leave space for anger, and doesn’t leave space for hatred or violence. That’s something I hope as a country we can avoid as best we can.”

Varadkar also added that migration was a topic that brings out the “best and worst” in people. The former Taoiseach told of friends of his who have biracial children in Ireland, who are now worrying about their children due to racism in Ireland for the first time.

He said he particularly felt this as when he grew up in Blanchardstown as the son of an Indian doctor, he was “the only child a little darker and with a funny last name”.

He added: “Yes, you might take the view that you don’t want any more people to come to the country or you don’t think we should accept refugees, whether genuine or not. But we need to be sensitive to how that sounds to people. People who need to come to our country. Or people of colour who live in our country, and have no other home.”

In the lengthy interview with Kielty, Varadkar also touched on his decision to step down as Taoiseach, a decision which had taken much of the political and public sphere by surprise.

Speaking about his resignation on the Late Late Show on Friday night, Mr Varadkar said that following through with his decision to resign was the “hardest part”, and admitted that he “nearly chickened out” the night before.

He conceded that Fine Gael had to perform better in the next general election, and felt that he no longer felt he was the right person to lead the party.