John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In fairness, the Minister of State has touched on most of the issues. The issue I really want to highlight and which was brought to my attention is the upcoming census which, if carried out along the lines of what is expected, will not even include a categorisation for the Rohingya people. There are about 2 million people in this population, most of whom do not live within the borders of Burma. Many of them are scattered all over the world, particularly in Bangladesh and Thailand. This census will take place over a 12-day period up until the end of March. I understand it is being at least partly funded by the European Union. The Rohingya will be classified under the heading of "other", which is not a very satisfactory classification given that I have been told there are only eight different classifications of ethnicity in the census when there are 135 different ethnic backgrounds in the country. That is the sense of urgency. I appreciate the Minister of State's view regarding the 1982 citizenship law, which is discriminatory. The Rohingya people are unable to ensure their children are educated and cannot move freely about the country. While many of them are living in refugee camps outside its borders, those who are still in Burma have very restricted lives in terms of movement and the ordinary things we all take for granted. I appreciate the gist of the Minister of State's response about keeping it as a priority, which is to be welcomed, but perhaps there is an opportunity to broaden the classification of different ethnic groups before the first census in 31 years takes place.

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