IRELAND AM stars confront a TD on air in a heated discussion about migration and have slammed the government for their "massive shortfall". The Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy appeared on the hit breakfast show this morning to speak to Muireann O'Connell and Tommy Bowe. The Government is progressing legislation that will allow the chief executive of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), Brendan McDonagh, to keep his €430,000 salary if he returns to his position in the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA). Speaking about this controversy, Muireann said: "He's going back to a role where he's not the boss in the NTMA. Why not just put him in the housing role, now anyway, because he's keeping all this money." Colm replied: "Well, he's withdrawn from the housing role that was being mentioned, so I don't think that is an option." Muireann remarked: "But he's going to be paid €430,000 to go back to his old role." Colm attempted to explain the reason for the high pay saying: "The situation for me, I've said this, I think that is an incredible amount of money to pay anybody for doing the job. "I know people get well paid, there's footballers get well paid, there's whatever, but that does seem an incredible amount of money for someone to get paid. "I believe that the housing role is something that the government will decide and they'll find a candidate, I've no doubt, and there'll be an excellent, he or she will be an excellent candidate who will take on that job. "And your man that is going to move back to his old role and that's the way, that's what's been agreed." Muireann reverted back to the issue at hand saying: "But he's moving back to his old role on a much increased salary. He's not the boss of the NTMA, everyone in NAMA is getting to keep the money that they were on, even though they're going back to jobs where they were paid significantly lower. "Colm, you can see why people are going to get their haunches up." The Fine Gael TD said that he "absolutely" can see why people are "annoyed". Tommy moved the conversation to migration and stated: "The second deportation flight to Georgia happened, 39 people on board. It cost €103,000, huge amount of money to fly 39 people." Colm stated that the government use deportation flights as a "last resort" when people who shouldn't remain in Ireland refuse to leave "voluntarily". The former rugby star replied: "So there was 39 people on board though. I think there were 2,400 people failed applications and were given deportation orders in 2024. Only 1,116 left. HOST CALL OUT "That's a massive shortfall on the amount of people who are given these deportation orders and the amount that left. You're talking nearly 900 people, but you've only deported 39." Muireann added: "It's an optics." Colm replied: "It's not just an optics. It is, we actually deport people all the time, every single day on commercial flights." Tommy added: "But you're almost 1,000 down." The politician discussed International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS centres) and how he's trying to "move away from private providers" to a "state-led system". While on the topic, Tommy asked: "When talking about immigration, it's just a big part of your brief. How are you going to communicate with communities on this? 'SO TALK TO THEM' "Because even just that, it was in the paper about Dundrum House. There's 200 people living in Dundrum, 220 IPAS applicants in that. "You can see how that that causes a bit of frustration with the locals. And are the resources being put into like the local medical centre, into the local school for these people because they don't feel it has?" Colm admitted that they do need to do a "better job" at communication with local communities and that they need to look at how they "engage and talk' to people. Tommy put Brophy on the spot as he replied bluntly: "So talk to them now. There's people watching this morning. 'I WANT YOUR MESSAGE' "We saw a huge march in Dublin there recently. They're not listening. What is your message to people who are frustrated that their local village has been doubled?" Colm replied: "Well, as I said to you, the key thing that we want to do is move away from the model." Tommy quizzed him again saying: "No, I understand. I want your message." Colm responded saying: "But that is the message that we want to move away from a situation where we are dealing with local villages and communities having to give up a local hotel or to give up a building to a situation where we have a bigger set of state-run centre." Tommy added: "But it's the same thing." The presenters and politician went back and forth awhile longer as Tommy criticised the "unclear" message until the segment finally ended.