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THERE is absolutely no debate to speak of in this country about immigration. That is typical of us. No debate is permitted about many things.
In other countries, the debate about immigration is polarised between those who exaggerate the problems it brings, and those who say there is no problem at all.
Last Saturday night, US President Donald Trump made a fool of himself again when he told people to look at what had happened in Sweden the previous night. The implication was that there had been a terrorist incident. There hadn't been, of course.
Then he clarified what he meant by saying he was referring to a report on Fox News which said that Muslim immigration had caused an upsurge in violent crime in Sweden.
Again, he was told he was making it all up and various media, including RTE, rushed to assure us that there is no problem in Sweden at all. In actual fact, both Mr Trump and his critics are wrong. Mr Trump is exaggerating the scale of the problem and his critics are wrong in pretending there is no problem whatsoever.
Here are just some headlines from mainstream media outlets from the last couple of years. 'Riots erupt in Sweden's capital just days after Trump comments' ('Washington Post'). 'Protesters in Malmo chant "slaughter the Jews"' ('The Jerusalem Post'). '"Anti-Semitism in Malmo...