Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to make a statement on the issue of service provision for international protection applicants and recipients, and, indeed, on the topic of immigration, and, more broadly, our international protection system.

Certain Deputies have recently given the impression that they believe that this topic is off limits, that having the debate is somehow being stifled by some grand conspiracy and that we must simply accept Government policy and move along. Of course, that is not the case. Deputies are free to raise issues as they see fit in their own time, be it on Leader’s Questions or in Private Members; time or whenever the case may be, and so they have. Some have done so at times in the most despicable terms. In the past number of weeks and months, we have heard Deputies use their time to spread misinformation and disinformation about immigrants and international protection applicants, trying to link immigration with criminality, using just about every dog-whistle imaginable and stopping just shy of outright racism. This has not just happened from Deputies in this House; it has happened on the ground in constituencies too where leaflets have been dropped warning of conflict where modular homes were being built for Ukrainian refugees or taking to the stage at various rallies. It can be difficult sometimes to state where the line of decency is in the abstract but when we are presented with a situation it is very clear, at least to those who I believe are on the right side of this debate, to know when they have overstepped and have fed the far right in their actions.

This is not debate; this is fearmongering. This is preying on whatever legitimate concerns or anxieties people have and pointing them towards vulnerable people. This is straight out of the far-right playbook. We are now at a point where people coming to Ireland seeking protection here – fleeing war, or persecution, or economic migrants who come here looking for a better life, just as millions of Irish people have gone and continue to go to other countries. These vulnerable people now feel unsafe in our country, which is most shameful. I have always been proud that we in Ireland did not fall prey to these hateful and dangerous narrative as many of our neighbours across Europe have.

I spoke recently with a man who lives in an area that has taken in a number of Ukrainian refugees over the past two years. He told me that these people had joined the local choir and were integrating well into the community. Indeed, the local people had welcomed them with open arms, a story that is very familiar to many of us throughout the country. Regrettably, over time fewer and fewer of the Ukrainian people have been going to choir practices. When asked, they say they are afraid to put themselves out there in the communities where they are being housed. They no longer feel welcome. They say clearly that it is not people within the community who are making them feel unwelcome; it is what they see online, including all the hate and all the falsehoods. They are seeing misinformation and disinformation that is then being amplified by many, including Deputies in this House. It is important to note, and it is something that gets lost in all the hysteria whipped up by bad actors, that the overwhelming majority of communities have been like the one I just mentioned.

They have welcomed these vulnerable people and embraced their new neighbours.

The scenes that we saw recently in Roscrea or those seen previously in East Wall are very much in the minority. That is not to say these sorts of scenes should not concern us. I do not think any of us will ever be able to forget some of those images, or the burnt-out refugee encampment just down the road from us here in central Dublin. Of all the appalling hate we have seen directed towards refugees and international protection applicants recently, that is the one that stands out in particular for the sheer absence of compassion and sympathy for these vulnerable people. It is also the action that caused the most severe harm.

However, there have been other instances of concern. An alarming number of arson attacks have been carried out on facilities earmarked not only for international protection accommodation but for homeless accommodation through the Dublin Region Homeless Executive. These are real, tangible threats to people's safety, not some imaginary or hypothetical threat posed by migrants, and they will end up causing death. It is vital that we halt the spread of misinformation and disinformation and combat those who seek to advance an agenda of hate, fear, xenophobia and racism. However, neither that nor anything I previously said absolves the Government of its failings in how it dealt with both the recent arrival of international protection applicants or the rise in anti-immigrant sentiment.

Broadly speaking, the Government's failings are twofold: a failure of communication and of service provision. I will deal with the latter first, as it is more straightforward. The Taoiseach's intervention recently to clarify our international protection system was welcome. It is important that people are informed about how it works: the application process, how people coming into the country are vetted – because they are vetted; there is no such thing as an unvetted migrant - and also the entitlements provided to successful applicants.

Unfortunately, that intervention has come way too late. Why has it taken until recently for the entire Government to begin clarifying matters? It should have taken a much more proactive approach to its communications, as has been taken by the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien. I do not think their approach has been followed by the entire Government.

The second failure relates to communication with the communities hosting refugees and IP applicants. I want to be very careful here because I do not want to give the wrong impression. It is not the position of the Labour Party that communities should be consulted, as that implies they should have a veto on hosting refugees and asylum seekers. We do not believe that anyone should have a veto. None of us gets to decide who our neighbours are, but we do believe that communities should be informed about what is happening in advance. Great models have been developed and have emerged in the past two years, since the invasion of Ukraine, which show just how well communities can work when resources are put in place to provide communication. Communities should be given the opportunity to welcome and embrace their new neighbours. Like I have said, the overwhelming majority of communities have done so, but they should know what resources they have at their disposal.

I am running out of time so I will skip ahead. We need to resource communities in the immediate term. This needs a whole-of-government approach. I sympathise with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, whom I have dealt with personally on issues relating to my constituency. Their instinctive and actual approach to communication and in trying to get resources is the correct one. They are trying to do the right thing but the Labour Party does not believe they have been supported either by the Department of the Education, the Department of Health or the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

We believe what Ireland faces is not a challenge of immigration but another aspect of the crisis of accommodation and housing. I am pleased the Minister for Health has joined us, because we need to see a specific approach to the provision of health services to migrant communities. We know that local GPs, primary care centres and acute hospital settings are under pressure, but we need resources where we are going to be accommodating a significant number of people. We need locum GPs and community health teams to be put in place to ensure that when people arrive the appropriate services are available and they get the help they need. This is the kind of whole-of-government response we in the Labour Party want.

The Government must give serious consideration to the Labour Party's proposal to appoint a dedicated Minister of State with responsibility for immigration, to co-ordinate the response to refugees coming to Ireland. Such a person would work across Departments and ensure communities got the information and resources they deserve. We have a Minister of State in Deputy Joe O'Brien who has stepped up to this responsibility, but he also has other responsibilities that demand his attention.

The Labour Party believes that any discussion on migration must be rooted in compassion for those fleeing war, violence and poverty. Leaving one's homeland is not a decision anyone would take lightly. It is also our position in the Labour Party that these conversations must be grounded in a sense in an acknowledgement of our own history as a people who, for generations, have sought work and shelter across the world. Increasingly, I hear the claim that when Irish people emigrate, we do not receive any help from wherever it is we go; we simply pull up our bootstraps and work hard. This is not an accurate assertion: it is disinformation in plain view. Wherever we go, there have been some among us who have received welfare or relied on the help of charities.

For the most part, we have contributed massively to the societies that have and continue to play host to us, just as immigrants in Ireland contribute massively to our society. We cannot forget that the Irish economy and critical public services would grind to a halt without the immense contribution made by many from a migrant background. Half of our nurses are from abroad and much of our hospitality sector is made up of migrants. In so many ways, our migrant communities have greatly enriched our society.

I will finish by saying this: the Labour Party is clear – Ireland does not have an immigration problem. The problems facing all communities across Irish society have arisen due to a chronic underinvestment in public services and a failed housing policy. Neither of those elements are the fault of those coming to Ireland for protection. The Government must begin to take investment in public infrastructure seriously and adopt a whole-of-government approach to ensure that communities are supported in hosting, welcoming and supporting those seeking protection. Everyone in this House must be mindful of his or her own actions, be it in their contributions here or in their constituencies.

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