Micheal Martin was first elected a TD in 1989. In 1989 the native population of Ireland was in the mid-90th percentile with non-native share largely coming from the UK, US & Europe.
Today, officially (unofficially is another story), 23% of people in Ireland were born outside the state.
Martin says Ireland is not 'overrun by immigrants'. Yet in the span of his political career, Ireland went from one of the most homogenous nations in Europe and the West - a feat maintained over centuries - to one of the most 'diverse'.
Whatever way he wants to phrase it, he cannot deny that he has been part of, and for stretches overseen, one the most profound demographic experiments in human history.