Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The people of Ireland have an affinity with those who need the protection and shelter of other countries. It is an affinity born of our history of colonisation, oppression and dispossession. Just over 150 years ago, so many of our people escaped the starvation of an Górta Mór by fleeing to the four corners of the world. Through our history, we understand what it means to be forced in fear and heartbreak from our beloved homeland. We know the loneliness of exile and the humiliation of discrimination - "No blacks, no dogs, no Irish". We also know what it takes to build a new life in faraway places. This is a legacy that has formed a deep-rooted humanity, compassion and genuine desire to help those who come to Ireland seeking refuge from war, persecution, violence and danger to their lives. Racism, bigotry and discrimination have no place in Ireland; we are so much better than that.

The fundamental decency of the Irish people has been evident in our people's response to the refugee crisis sparked by Russia's criminal and brutal invasion of Ukraine, the greatest displacement of people in Europe since the Second World War. It is, therefore, all the more regrettable that the Government has failed to match this effort of the people with an effective plan for the co-ordination of supports and services for Ukrainian refugees and those seeking international protection in Ireland. This failure has crystallised most sharply around the provision of accommodation. The lack of accommodation for refugees was entirely predictable as the housing system in this State is broken. What we have seen from the Government is a failure to prepare and put in place a coherent, workable plan that meets the scale of the crisis. Far from implementing an all-of-government approach, it seems very clear that the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, has effectively been left to deal with this crisis on his own. Instead of the Government taking responsibility, we see Ministers acting as spectators and commentators. We see an approach defined by panic and lack of organisation.

It is wrong for the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste to make big commitments at an international level and in discussion with our European partners and then to fail utterly to back up those commitments with the planning, co-ordination and allocation of resources needed for a humanitarian effort of this scale. The surge in refugees and those seeking international protection, we must remember, is happening at a time where we have an asylum, immigration and direct provision system that is inhumane, not fit for purpose, far too slow and not properly resourced. That needs to change.

Rising to our moral obligations to protect those fleeing war and persecution is not, as claimed by some, an open borders policy. Every state controls the number of people entering its jurisdiction and Ireland is no different.

The Taoiseach spoke about managing immigration. What we need is a modern, efficient system that works, fulfils our humanitarian obligations and helps with the betterment of our society. This means that asylum applications must be processed efficiently, decisions must be taken efficiently, we must see an end to the limbo in which so many people find themselves and we need an end to direct provision.

The Government's failure to plan and prepare is matched only by its failure to engage with local communities, so many of which are already under the most extraordinary pressure. This has become now a lightning rod for the legitimate frustrations of workers and families who have lived for a decade and more with the nightmare of a housing crisis. This is a crisis which has caused real suffering and pain for communities which have too often been denied access to the supports and public services to which they are entitled. It is a crisis, let it be said, created by the bad and damaging housing policies of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

Protests outside places where vulnerable people are being accommodated are wrong and they are to be condemned. They go against every notion of community. We must recognise, however, that many people attending those protests do so because they are angry. They hold legitimate frustrations. People may see no prospects for themselves or their families, and no easing of their difficulties. I refer to families with generations living under one roof in overcrowded homes. There are also those, a small minority, who occupy a very negative political space, who now seek to create tension, inflame frustration and direct anger towards vulnerable refugees. My message to ordinary, decent people across our communities is to reject those seeking to exploit their anger to advance their own agenda. This is not what Ireland is about and it never will be.

Those seeking international protection in Ireland are not responsible for crises in housing, healthcare and public services or for the neglect of people's communities. Responsibility for this lies solely and squarely with those in power - with the Government - and not with vulnerable people fleeing for their lives. I have no doubt that the people of Ireland will continue to respond with compassion and dignity to what is a great humanitarian challenge. The natural affinity of Irish people with the displaced and dispossessed is something of which we should be proud. It is a powerful and positive thing. It is part of what we are. The Government must now wake up and match the efforts of our people with a real plan that involves proper co-ordination and focused engagement and dialogue with local communities. Failure to do so only plays into the hands of those who thrive on conflict and division.

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