Ms Sophie Magennis:

We do have a challenge in Ireland, but the UNCHR offices in other European countries have a more difficult challenge. The political space and discourse on these issues is very good at the moment in Ireland, but the Deputy raises an important point. The Irish Timesran a poll recently which contained unfortunate wording. It said: "Should Ireland offer to resettle migrants rescued in Mediterranean?" It was not clear that what was on the table was the resettlement of refugees even prior to their taking these journeys. The general sentiment was clear in the question and just over half of those polled said "No." For those who said "Yes," the number of migrants acceptable ranged from small to medium figures. Our work is cut out for us and we could work more with parliamentarians, providing information, facts, graphics and materials which could help deliver the message. Our external relations section could have something to add to this.

We find that personal stories of individuals in communities can get a message across very well. We run events such as the annual football cup with Sports Against Racism Ireland (SARI). Teams are from all over the country and are made up of asylum seekers who have lived in asylum centres for years, locals and refugees. The aim is to raise the immigration profile through community stories and events. The garden party with the President also makes refugees and asylum seekers feel very involved. The initiatives on citizenship are important. The high-profile citizenship ceremonies are handled very well; the State grants citizenship to tens of thousands of people who enjoy the event and it is communicated positively in media coverage. Maybe there is more we can do to tell the personal stories of refugees and asylum seekers in a positive light, and that might help.