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

I will start by briefly laying out the additional responsibilities I have taken on as Minister of State with responsibility for integration. These are to finalise, publish and oversee a new national action plan against racism; develop a new national migrant integration strategy; oversee the asylum, migration and integration fund; oversee the international protection integration fund; and assist in the area of community engagement.

My role in the Department of Social Protection is also relevant. I oversee the community employment and Tús schemes. These schemes not only play an important role in the provision of community services but also a crucial role in community integration and social inclusion. I confirm that from next month onwards, people who have come here under the temporary protection directive will start to become eligible for community employment and Tús schemes. It is important to note that people with refugee status can also apply immediately for community employment schemes once they turn 18. Community employment in particular can play an important role in migrant integration as it has a training element which will allow English language classes to be taken on and paid for.

It is my role in the Department of Rural and Community Development that brings the most added value to my new integration responsibilities.

Last year in the Department, additional resources were provided to the community services programme for volunteer centres and the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, to help to put more community workers on the ground in response to the Ukraine crisis. This commitment has continued into this year with an additional €11 million put into SICAP and volunteer centre supports.

I acknowledge the leading role the community and voluntary sector has played in the initial human and humanitarian response to people arriving in Ireland seeking protection and I acknowledge that this response continues. I also acknowledge the role of the community and voluntary sector in responding peacefully and strongly to overt expressions of racism in their communities. I draw attention to the fact that I launched the communities integration fund yesterday. The fund has a broader function in terms of promoting migrant integration at a local level but it also supports community-based measures to combat racism and similar xenophobia.

When we stand as allies in solidarity with those who are the targets of racism, it is important that we do so peacefully. Some people falling into the trap of using racism can be guided out of it if we avoid polarisation and better disseminate the facts about migration and our immigration system. The broader reality of racism can sometimes be lost by blaming it all on a small group of individuals who express it explicitly or publicly but, sadly, racism is much more pervasive than that. We all need to be conscious of how we can end up using it unconsciously, which can feed into problematic attitudes and behaviour.

I am glad to say that the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and I plan to launch the new national action plan against racism next month. I mentioned that part of my role involves community engagement and I also referenced the need for better dissemination of the facts about migration and the immigration system. I am glad to say that the Department of the Taoiseach, in conjunction with other Departments, is working on a process whereby a whole-of-government communications approach on the facts about migration and the immigration system is being developed to help to counter the misinformation that is currently all too prevalent.

The seriousness of the accommodation situation at the moment, especially for people seeking international protection, means that as soon as accommodation becomes available, we need to use it immediately. This sometimes leaves us with a very small window, if any, for sharing information in advance. I want to acknowledge the cross-party co-operation at a local level in assisting with accommodating people who are seeking protection. Over the next two years, with my integration responsibilities, I see my overarching role as one of pushing that key White Paper policy of "integration from day one" for international protection applicants.

On Monday, I visited Roscrea and Borrisokane in Tipperary, which are a great example of two communities that have reached out through groups like the Tidy Towns group and the Men's Shed group to new people living in their communities who are international protection applicants. There are numerous examples of this happening all over the country where collaborative projects are used to bring people together, benefit the community as a whole and inoculate it against attempts to spread lies and hate. I take this opportunity to encourage all communities, villages and towns across the country to reach out to people living in their area who have come to Ireland to seek protection. As we go forward, we will be looking at every way possible to encourage this interaction and to support their efforts to do so.

See this speech in context