Ex-Irish PM Ahern clarifies immigration stance after 'I worry about Africans' recording

Former taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Bertie Ahern has said he has no issue with people who come to Ireland "through the visa and asylum systems" after facing criticism over comments he made on immigration in a video.

Ahern appears to tell a potential voter he had "no problem" with Ukrainians coming into Ireland but added: "The ones I worry about are the Africans."

"We can't be taking in people from the Congo and all these places. I think there's too many from those places," he said in the recording, which has been circulating on social media.

Ahern told Irish broadcaster RTÉ he was recorded without his knowledge and the conversation happened "around nine or 10 days ago".

The current taoiseach, Micheál Martin, responding to questions about Ahern's reported comments described them as "not appropriate".

The video, which has not been verified by the BBC, is believed to have been made when Ahern was canvassing voters in a Dublin housing estate.

A woman who answered her door to the canvassing team asked if they had a politician she could speak to and was then introduced to Ahern, who served for almost 11 years as leader of the Republic of Ireland.

The woman immediately challenged Ahern and the Fianna Fáil party about immigration, criticising the "hoards of foreigners coming into our country".

"Can we not close our borders?" she asked him.

Pushed for his personal view on the subject, Ahern told the woman that Ireland had to accept some migrants but added he believed "there's too many coming in".

He then went on to say he had "no problem with the Ukrainians" because of the "war in their country".

However, Ahern then added: "The ones I worry about are the Africans".

"We can't be taking in people from the Congo and all these places. I think there's too many from those places."

The woman then asked the former taoiseach about Muslim migrants and said she was concerned about Sharia Law.

Ahern responded: "I don't worry about this generation of Muslims.

"The next generation, when the kids start growing up, there then that's when I think the problem will be."

He told the woman he had shared that concern with the Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan who has responsibility for migration.

Later in the recording - which runs to more than five minutes - the woman tells Ahern she has recorded their conversation and plans to release it on social media.

She also criticises Ahern as he walks away, accusing him of "not speaking up for the Irish".

Speaking to RTÉ News, Ahern said the video was part of a longer conversation with the woman.

"I have no problem with people who come here through the visa and asylum systems," he told the broadcaster.

He added that many African people had gone through the system successfully and now live and work in his local area in Dublin.

Ahern also clarified that he supports the justice minister's policies on immigration, despite the woman accusing him of opposing his party colleague.

"I have said in the past the asylum process should be quicker, but I do acknowledge it has speeded up a bit in recent times," Ahern added.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin told RTÉ it was "not appropriate" for Ahern "to be specific about any given ethnicity".

"That's not, in my view, correct or proper," Martin told RTÉ.

"We've many different ethnicities in Ireland, many Irish citizens with different ethnic backgrounds, and that has to be respected."

The taoiseach added that Ireland has a "fair and robust asylum system".

He said it has recently been reformed to create "an efficient and accelerated process" where asylum seekers are "dealt with in a relatively timely manner".

He later told the Dáil (Irish parliament) that he understood Ahern had "resiled from those comments and says he has no issue with people who come through our asylum process".

Ahern was canvassing for a Fianna Fáil by-election candidate when the recording was made and several of the other candidates have criticised his remarks.

Immigration and the asylum system have become a major political issue in the Republic of Ireland in recent years.

The most recent census data, collected in April 2022, showed that one in five of Irish residents had been born outside Ireland.

But since then, Ireland has taken in a large number of Ukrainian refugees as well as other nationalities, which critics say exacerbated a long-running housing crisis.

The minister responsible for migration, Jim O'Callaghan recently said the number of people seeking asylum in Ireland was "too high".

He said before the Covid-19 pandemic, there were about 3,000 to 4,000 asylum seekers coming into the Republic per year but this had risen to more than 18,500.

However, data suggests overall net immigration to the Republic of Ireland fell last year to 59,700 people.

That compares to higher net immigration figures of 79,300 in 2024 and 77,600 in 2023.

Bertie Ahern served as taoiseach (Irish prime minister) from 1997 until 2008.

Born in Dublin, he was first elected as a TD (member of parliament) for Fianna Fáil in 1977 and was minister for finance between 1991 and 1994.

He was was elected as leader of Fianna Fáil in December 1994, succeeding Albert Reynolds.

Ahern played a key role in negotiations which led to 1998's Good Friday Agreement, the peace deal that brought an end to Northern Ireland's Troubles.

In 2008 he stood down as taoiseach amid a deepening crisis surrounding his personal finances

In 2012, a report on corruption in the planning process found that he had given untrue evidence to a tribunal about the source of over £215,000 lodged in bank accounts connected to him.

Ahern resigned from Fianna Fáil shortly afterwards.