Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is important that we avail of this House to have these conversations. In regard to referenda, we all have anecdotal examples of why people vote in particular ways, from which we can draw our own conclusions. Following the children's referendum when I asked a man why he had voted "No", he responded that he had done so because the "No" option was on the ballot paper, which shows his vote had nothing to do with the children's referendum.

In terms of the Italian referendum result, whether or not there will be a general election in Italy is a matter for the Italian President. We need to look at what is happening outside of the European Union. We live in a world in which 65 million people are displaced, of which 9 million are from Chad in sub-Saharan Africa.

Some 25% of all the refugees in Italy come from Eritrea. There is fear over what the future will hold. People think about the next generation and struggle with the question as to what the world will be like in 20 or 30 years. The population of Africa is to double in 20 years, from 1.2 billion to 2.5 billion. This will have a knock-on effect at European level.

A major conversation is needed but I guard against the politics of fear. There is a lot of fear, as expressed in many referendum campaigns over the years. We need a big conversation on demographic trends, population increases and projections for the future. Kenya, for example, will produce 1 million extra people for the workplace each year. This is but one country in the Continent of Africa. We have to be conscious of these demographic trends but we must also allow the space in which to have these conversations in this House because Ireland has an important role to play.

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