Dáil debates

Thursday, 4 June 2020

Covid-19 (Justice and Equality): Statements

 

10:50 pm

Photo of Duncan SmithDuncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The best asset the Garda has is the community policing and community garda unit.

As we are all aware, it has been a difficult decade for the Garda. Trust has been damaged by a number of incidents and issues which have been well debated in the House down through the years. As have many other public representatives, I have witnessed the benefits of good community gardaí when they come to a community centre to meet local residents and explain how the local gardaí work, the organisation's limitations and what gardaí can and cannot do. It makes a huge difference. A good community garda is worth his or her weight in gold, and I join everyone here in pleading for a focus on providing more of them, setting higher targets for Templemore, and having it meet those targets of getting trainees and recruits through. We need a strong and compassionate police force, and community gardaí are on the front line of this.

I have a number of questions on the request made by Deputy Ó Ríordáin, among others, including Deputies who have spoken in this debate. This is for a task force for the north side of Dublin with regard to the feud that has been going on. It is greatly needed. What is the update on this? We need a Mulvey-style task force for the north side of Dublin. I also seek an update on the Minister's commitments on being 100% behind the community of Drogheda in tackling the multifaceted and complex issues in that town.

The debates in the House this week have reflected the anger and passion we have for tackling racial discrimination everywhere we see it. Where we see it most vividly and most scarily at present is in the United States. When I was a teenager learning about the world, I was opened up to the dichotomy of the United States through a couple of songs recorded by Bruce Springsteen in 1999. Both songs taken together capture why the crimes of that country transcend its borders and affect us so deeply in Ireland and throughout the world. The first song is "Land of Hope and Dreams", which speaks to the promise of America that it welcomes all, that it welcomes saint, sinner, loser, winner and lost soul, and that for those who invest in its promise, that faith will be rewarded. However, this is a false promise. It is the false promise of the United States. The reality of the United States is in the second song from that same year, "American Skin (41 Shots)". That song was about the killing of an unarmed black man named Amadou Diallo. Forty-one shots were fired by four police officers, 19 of which hit him and killed him. The song's lyrics speak of a mother warning her son that if he meets a police officer, he should always be polite and always keep his hands in sight, because the reality of that country then and now is that people can get killed, as the song says, just for being in their American skin.

I am so thankful I live in a country where, for all the problems we have and the challenges we face, we are not there. As Deputy Jim O'Callaghan mentioned earlier, we cannot take it for granted. A polarised society is never too far away. I ran in two elections this year, a by-election and a general election, in which a far right candidate ran purely on a platform of division and racial hatred. It is here. Only today I had to report a Twitter account purporting to represent a town in my constituency that just tweets out racist bile and division and horrendous stuff. It is here and we are dealing with it every day. It is not a million miles away.

We did not place America on this moral high ground. It placed itself there. It said it was the land of the free, the home of the brave, and the leader of the free world, but it is absolutely none of these things and it probably never was. The murders of George Floyd two weeks ago, of Trayvon Martin in 2012 and of Amadou Diallo in 1999 are just three high-profile touchstone cases for killings that happen all too frequently in a country that has a long and shameful record in the treatment of black people and people of colour. I am so heartened by the expressions of solidarity not only by the Minister but throughout the House with the Black Lives Matter movement. It is vital. It is a global movement and one we should all support, not only with words and rhetoric in the House but with actions and practical solutions.

I was disheartened by the response of the Taoiseach today when discussing the direct provision system. The system is probably our most visible example of systemic racial discrimination. It is inhumane and outdated. As Minister of State with responsibility for equality in 2014, Deputy Ó Ríordáin tried to begin a process to have it dismantled. That process stalled. It needs to be restarted and the Labour Party will make a commitment to promise to support any legislation in the next Government that would seek to dismantle the system.

There are things that can be done now which are practical and would go a long way towards building trust with minorities in Ireland. I will put five proposals to the Minister and would love to hear his response to them. They were put forward by my Seanad colleague, Senator Annie Hoey, today. They can be delivered in a short space of time. One, we would like to see justice for undocumented workers, allowing them access to the employment permits system. If someone lives here, he or she works here, and if that person works here, he or she belongs here. We believe in that mantra.

Two, we would like SUSI grants to be extended to those living in direct provision. A ceiling that is not placed over others is placed above those children who have grown up in the Irish education system, have sat the leaving certificate or the leaving certificate applied but are denied access to third level education because they cannot get a SUSI grant. It locks them out. That must be stopped and can be done very quickly.

Three, legislate to give citizenship to children born here. We do not need a referendum. Children born here should belong here. My colleague, Senator Bacik, has introduced a Bill which would allow children to be considered for citizenship as independent applicants, irrespective of the status of their parents. That can be done through legislation, which, I am sure, would be supported.

Four, the Traveller Culture and History in Education Bill 2018 should be passed. We have a shameful relationship with the Traveller community. It is one of exclusion, and discrimination is rife. By making Traveller culture and history compulsory in schools, this Bill would go a long way towards mending that fractured relationship.

Five, expand the right to work protection. Barriers to entering employment continue to exist. People cannot obtain a driver's licence and have trouble opening a bank account.

These are things that can be changed very quickly. I believe these five requests would get the support of every grouping in this House. As a collective it would show a maturity in our politics. Bringing them forward would be real new politics. This interregnum between two Governments would not be a problem in moving them forward. I ask the Minister to consider these five proposals, examine them and get them through. I ask him to answer my earlier questions too.

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