Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will return to the issue of accommodation for refugees, which I raised earlier this week as well as last week. I visited Mount Street Lower again yesterday and was concerned to see so many people still forced to sleep there in tents. I was also concerned to see the unacceptable protests and blockades against refugee accommodation in Inch, County Clare. I think we are better than that. I express support for the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and his Department in their determination to secure accommodation for all who seek refuge here. It appears that the level of support that is required from other Departments is not available and there is not a proper cross-Government approach to this. I urge caution from all colleagues in our use of language. While information is welcome and I am delighted to get information about new accommodation for 66 asylum seekers in my constituency, consultation calls can be misinterpreted. Calls for consultation can suggest that communities can veto who moves in. That is not right. Calls for consultation can even offer a platform to those who will never welcome inward migration, and to those with a much more sinister agenda on the far right. People have put up unacceptable graffiti in the Sandwith Street area. I saw it yesterday. We must be careful in our calls. Information is welcome but consultation suggests a veto and that is not right.

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