Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to start by saying that our thoughts are with the people of Türkiye and Syria at this difficult time. I wish to speak, in the same vein as the previous speaker, about the rise in racism in this country. I am sure the Taoiseach agrees the racist sentiment which is growing and has become a lot more mainstream in Ireland in recent months is incredibly concerning and needs to be addressed urgently. The far right is doing a great job of exploiting the public's real and legitimate fears and using them to stoke racist hatred. It is doing this under the guise of Irishness and nationalism but the ideas being spread could not be more anti-Irish.

Emigration has been a massive part of Irish history and identity, and to ignore this aspect of ourselves is to ignore what it means to be Irish. We know that 1 million Irish people emigrated during the Famine and we also know how badly many of our migrant ancestors were treated during this very difficult time in Irish history. Yet, when history repeats itself in other countries, when they are facing war and famine just as we did, we turn our backs on immigrants and, in doing so, we turn our backs on our ancestors as well. This is not only shameful, it is also hypocritical because emigration did not only define Irish identity 200 years ago but has continued to define us ever since. My parents emigrated in the 1960s and I was an economic migrant in the 1980s when I went to England to work, support myself and have a better quality of life. The only difference is that I could legally enter England at that time. This is all immigrants to our country look for: the opportunity to have a better quality of life. We have never been denied this so why should we deny anyone else this opportunity?

A RED C survey five months ago showed that 70% of young people here were considering moving abroad for a better quality of life elsewhere. How can we accept this while at the same time condemning anyone living in Ireland for the exact same reasons? How is it that we have become so hypocritical? The sad reality is that the State plays a role in this, subtly at times but more obviously at other times. The remarks of some Government backbenchers of late have attested to this and some opportunists in opposition have fed into the dangerous narrative that Ireland is full, despite the fact our population has not yet returned to pre-Famine levels and we have more than 150,000 vacant homes in this country.

There is no doubt the Government is using this rise in racism to protect itself. Culture wars are in the Government's interest because they stop communities organising around the things that actually matter to them, like housing, unemployment and the climate crisis. As long as we are pointing the finger at immigrants and asylum seekers, we are not organising around the things that matter and are not pointing the finger at those who are actually at fault. The reality is that if every migrant left Ireland tomorrow, we would still have a housing crisis, a cost-of-living crisis and a crisis in our healthcare system. In fact, the latter would probably be even worse because so many economic migrants work in our healthcare system and keep it functioning.

Will the Government take responsibility for the fact its failed policies have caused the housing and healthcare crises in this country, leading to a rise in the alt right?

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