John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

It appears the Opposition understands very little about the intelligence of the electorate as will be shown in due course on 11 June.

The issue of immigration has been raised during this debate. Immigration is an issue which is clearly separate from the issue of citizenship. The two should not be confused and I do not believe the electorate will confuse them. However, as the issue has been raised already I will make a comment. It is high time we brought immigration policy and the structures that deal with the immigration issue into this century. We do not acknowledge some of the basic rights of people who currently live in this country, some of them here due to unfortunate circumstances. I cannot see why highly qualified people such as a geologist I spoke to the other day, or a qualified doctor or teacher, should be asked to live locked behind doors in our hostels while their skills are needed in our growing economy.

We have issued 50,000 work permits. However, the time has come for Government, particularly during our Presidency of Europe, to bring forward proposals in this area which would acknowledge the wrongs of our current policy and acknowledge what needs to be done in the future, not just here but in Europe as a whole. We should take the lead in providing Europe with the type of immigration policy that is necessary and which reflects the economic changes that are taking place in Ireland. I urge the Minister to take a fresh look at what is happening and not to be afraid to bring forward the bold radical change needed here and in Europe.

I never heard so much rant on racism as what I heard from the Sinn Féin contributors today. Sinn Féin is the party which focused on this issue and on the issues we know exist but which are not part of this debate. Sinn Féin tried to make them a central part of the debate. I know that when the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, takes part in debate temperatures are raised. He has raised the temperature with Sinn Féin and today it used the opportunity to throw the kitchen sink at him on this debate and place blame on him. I am not here to defend the Minister, however, Sinn Féin was out of order regarding the contribution made here this evening.

I commend the Minister on this proposal. I ask him to reflect on immigration policy and make the necessary changes. On the matter of the forthcoming elections, an astounding number of legal immigrants are registered to vote and are showing an interest in the elections. They are tuned into what is going on and the Department should be aware of this and ensure the necessary changes are made to make it easy for them to register to vote.

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