Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to be very clear that I do not accept the suggestion of double standards in this regard. I have often had the opportunity to speak to our colleagues in the US, in the US Administration and to Members of Congress.

When I say to them that we wish to have something done to help undocumented Irish people in the US or, indeed, undocumented people from other parts of the world, I precisely point to what we have done, because what we have done as a Government in the past number of years is put in place schemes to allow undocumented migrants to become documented. I refer to those who came here on students visas and those who built lives here and had children here, who became undocumented. All we are ever asking the US administration to do is what we have already done for undocumented people in our country. I totally reject the argument of double standards on that point, because it is misinformed.

I think we will both agree on one point: there is absolutely no excuse for racism of any form. I had the opportunity to meet with the trade union and business leaders this morning under the Labour Employer Economic Forum. One of the leaders of one of the health unions told me there had been protests outside of a hospital in Dublin in recent times, against foreign nationals who are members of staff in that hospital.

While there is no excuse for any form of racism, under any circumstances, it really is a low blow and a new low if healthcare workers, to whom we are so grateful for having come here, are now facing protests and racism from those who do not believe they are welcome here. That is really appalling and the Government will fight against it. It is one of the reasons for our national action plan against racism, which will be published in early March. The plan will be led by the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, but will be a whole-of-government effort and will include funding for integration and counteracting racist activities.

Racists and the far right will blame whatever problem the country is facing on migrants. That is the way it works and the way they think. If we have a housing crisis, it will be said the foreigners are taking our homes. If we have an unemployment crisis, it will be said the foreigners are taking our jobs. If we have high levels of crime, they will blame the foreigners for those. If there is violence against women - one of the oldest tropes in the book - they will blame it on migrants and people who have come here from overseas, especially those who are brown or black.

We should not play into those arguments and I think the Deputy is doing that inadvertently. Whatever problem any country faces, they will blame it on the brown man or the brown woman. It is housing now, but it could just as easily be unemployment or crime. The Deputy needs to be careful that he does not inadvertently assist them in the kinds of things he is saying.

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