Irish PM says Ireland ‘not overrun’ by immigrants, legal migration tied to economic success

NEW YORK — Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin pushed back on the notion that Ireland has been “overrun” by immigrants as nearly one in four residents is now foreign-born, arguing that the country’s dramatic demographic change has been driven largely by legal migration tied to its economic success story.

Martin, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, acknowledged failures in Ireland’s asylum system after a record surge in applications, saying it “was too slow” in recent years.

He also addressed moves to tighten citizenship rules and opened the door to publishing crime statistics by nationality amid a heated debate over...