Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the people of Dublin Fingal for their support in the by-election and I congratulate my three colleagues who were also elected.

I made a very conscious decision about 20 years ago to dedicate my life's work to the area of human rights. It was a time when immigration was new to Ireland and I was determined to work to help ensure that as a society we would treat people new to our shores in a proper way and that we would recognise the huge richness and value they bring. It is somewhat fitting that I as stand on my first day in Dáil Éireann, the Irish Government is being questioned by the United Nations in Geneva as we speak on its record in upholding its commitments under the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.

I will give some of the points the UN has raised on Ireland's performance on tackling racism. It has criticised the Government for failing to reform its legal framework on hate crime and has called for a clear time-bound commitment to make the necessary changes in law. The Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 does not effectively combat hate speech, particularly online attacks. Members of An Garda Síochána still lack training on how to deal with racially motivated crime. The UN has also questioned the impact and effectiveness of the State's Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy and warned of discrimination towards black Irish people and people of African descent in the Irish workplace. On direct provision, the UN has said there is an urgent need for improved reception conditions. This is the UN saying this, not me.

Noting that a national action plan against racism has not been renewed since 2008, which is almost 12 years ago, the UN has questioned whether the State plans to introduce a new plan and whether a timeframe exists. I ask these questions because there was some hesitation from the Minister in Geneva.

In the context of this and the nastiness that reared its head during the by-election campaign and before, is the Taoiseach planning to develop a national action plan against racism? In the context of the by-election campaigns and the various utterances by people in these Houses and outside, does the Taoiseach feel there is a general need for candidates and elected representatives to up their game in how they speak about people who look different or are from a minority?

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