Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join all those who praised Prime Minister Ardern for her great leadership in the aftermath of the Christchurch atrocity. She made a very powerful statement to the people of New Zealand and to the world about the need for unity against hate and for all of us to stand with minorities who are under attack. The recent spurt of Islamophobic campaigns by politicians in many countries is something we need to fight against not only here but internationally as well. Our media should understand that there are many people out there who have no problem picking on minorities if they think it might get them attention. They are happy to play on the margins and the proportional representation system here is such that media coverage can deliver a real electoral advantage and bonus to people engaged in such activity. The media need to remember too that they have the freedom to cover anything but they need to avoid falling again and again for giving significant exposure to people exploiting division for political purposes. In this context, the Taoiseach may be aware that the European Commission carried out research in every European Union country on attitudes to immigrants in general, which found that there are many places where people have limited or no experience of Muslims but have been persuaded by demagogues to fear them. Thankfully, Ireland is one of the best countries when it comes to open attitudes to different faiths and cultures, which we must actively protect. More should be done to promote integration. We have not as yet achieved full integration in society of minorities and different faiths and cultures. Local authorities are perfectly placed to promote programmes locally and some have been doing an excellent job in this regard.

What initiatives are planned to actively monitor and combat the hateful ideology behind the Christchurch attack?

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