Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Ceann Comhairle that he will have our full support for the work he is taking on in respect of what he announced at the beginning of business today.

Yesterday, 39 people were found dead in the back of a lorry in England. My thoughts are with their families and the emergency response services who had to deal with this terrible tragedy. A tweet today read, "One of those people was the last to die and watched 38 die before them". This is an unimaginable horror. We have our own tragic history in this country in that regard. The owners of coffin ships exploited Irish immigrants by cramming them into holds and under decks. Today, shipping containers and lorries are the coffin ships of the 21st century. It highlights the human tragedy of displacement and conflict. These coffin containers are what many people fleeing persecution and war have to resort to in order to get to safety. Tackling the criminal gangs behind them, who are people trafficking, must be prioritised and they must be put out of business across Europe.

Unfortunately, some people in this country peddle far right ideology and may be happy that 39 fewer immigrants will be coming to Ireland. The hatred that these people disseminate, mainly through the Internet, is regrettably taking root in some places in our society and that is what I want to talk about today. The language the far right uses and the tone of speech that it normalises has taken root among people who would otherwise be decent and reasonable. That is where the greatest danger lies. It has become acceptable for some people to talk about asylum seekers being dumped in a town. The word "dumped" insinuates something is of no value. We only dump rubbish. Legitimate concerns that people and communities have about education or health services being stretched are being twisted into reasons to be intolerant. All of us elected to public office have a duty to stand firm against this and we must educate and convince people of the dangers of that indirect prejudice and what it produces.

This issue goes beyond immigrants and minorities. It is also an issue of class because in many places around the country where there are proposals to build emergency accommodation or social housing, there are objections from communities which are excited by hysteria that they do not want those sort of people around them. That is the challenge for the Tánaiste, the Government and all parties. The Government's limited policies on social housing to provide for the underprivileged is always heralded in this Chamber, but on the ground it is the secretaries and chairs of Fine Gael branches, and even Fine Gael councillors, who lead the protests to block such housing. I have personal experience of senior members of Fine Gael, including a local councillor, whipping up hysteria, demonising people and standing as a bulwark against reason and civil discourse in favour of domination and superiority.

Fearmongering discussion about being overrun has become common and acceptable language. I even hear radio journalists speaking in those terms. We have a job of work to do in our society. We have to stand for equality and justice every day, on the hard days and the easy days. I want the Tánaiste to assure me that he is prepared to stand against prejudice and that the Government is prepared to stand against this sort of thing creeping into our society.

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