Mr. Peter Tyndall:

Ombudsman offices throughout Europe are co-operating on the issues of asylum and immigration because it has become such a pressing issue and because it is an intercountry issue. We have been looking to work with colleagues and to gain some sense of what is happening. We have seen the offices of many other colleagues facing threats because of their work in support of refugees and asylum seekers in their countries. Populism and antipathy towards asylum seekers and immigrants are affecting the whole of public discourse across Europe. It is not an Irish issue, as the Deputy well knows. It is very important and I will lend my voice to this. I am very reluctant normally to speak beyond the casebook but the reality is that we as a country need to be properly providing for people who come to us as asylum seekers and refugees. As a country, we need to find ways of welcoming them and integrating them. Our work as an office will be directed towards dealing with them, the issues they face and helping them to find their way to integrate into our communities. As someone who lived abroad for many years in a country that once was not very receptive to Irish immigrants, I consider it incumbent on us to ensure we treat people in the way we would have wanted to be treated when we lived and worked abroad.