Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is welcome we are having this debate today. We had three Ministers speak at the start of this debate, which is something we have been calling for in some fashion for a long time. That is a co-ordinated coherent response from Government. We have not heard it enough. On the opening contributions from the Ministers, many of us would agree with what was said and would agree with the sentiments that were voiced. This is what we want to see. We need more regular debates on this issue in the Dáil, in particular. It is an issue of vital importance and one on which we need to show leadership from the top down in Irish politics because we, as the Legislature, have not been doing so. That is something that I want to see more of.

We have been on record as asking for a more coherent response from Government. We want to see a Minister with sole responsibility for this issue. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, rightly said that he has been available and open to Members of this House for communication and information. No doubt he has, but that is not a good system to try to grab a Minister in a corridor or telephone him to get information. It is something that needs to be improved on.

I understand - it cannot be unsaid - there is a concern, which I imagine the Minister has, in terms of sharing information with some public representatives in this House. There is a small minority of public representatives in this House who I would not trust with certain information in relation to where new arrivals will be accommodated. There have been instances where public representatives have said things at public meetings or have dropped leaflets. That, quite simply, is something we cannot stand for. While the majority of Members on both sides of the House have been acting in concert, in terms of welcoming new arrivals, wanting the system to be better and wanting to be able to share information and better processes for assisting anyone who comes into this country, there are those who have not. Sometimes they couch their language. They think quite carefully but we can all see through it. Those watching certainly see through it and they know it when they see it.

Much has been made of the policing. I listened to the Garda Commissioner, Mr. Drew Harris, talk about the policing strategy. It was reflected in two of the Ministers' comments today, that the Garda is playing a long game but there has to be intelligence gathering and the building up of a greater picture of what is going on. All of us can understand an element of that but I draw the line when it comes to blockading accommodation centres. There is no long game that has to be played there when you have masked individuals waving tricolours, turning buses around, getting onto buses and doing head counts. It is abominable behaviour. The Garda should have a zero tolerance approach to that and should be ending that as soon as it happens. There is no space for that. It is a shame. No matter where those blockades take place, whether they are in my constituency or other constituencies, they should not happen and there is no way the Garda should be playing a long game in relation to that. I do not accept what the Commissioner said on that.

We are all conscious that much of the accommodation is temporary. It is unsuitable but it is better than being on the streets. That is the emergency we are operating in at present but we have to acknowledge that what we are witnessing is a dramatic expansion of the direct provision system, a system that has failed for many years.

The bringing on stream of suitable accommodation for anyone in Ireland who needs accommodation is something we have spoken about many times and needs to be spoken about again. The alternative to these repurposed warehouses, office buildings or hotels is people sleeping on the streets or in tents.

I agree with one of the previous speakers who said that what we saw last week, with the burning of tents in Sandwith Street, was a turning point. It was one of the most despicable acts I have ever seen. There is no way to describe it other than as a fascist act on Irish soil. I think it has galvanised those many thousands of people throughout the country who want to work in their communities to welcome new arrivals, no matter where they come from, what their skin colour is or what circumstances they arrive under. That is the Ireland we know. They are the people we are working with and working for. The language we use in this House, whether from the Government or elsewhere, needs to be backed up by pushing back on the far right on the streets and where we see it. We cannot allow fascism to take hold or the far right to get into our communities and spread misinformation or harness negative sentiment. We have been successful in the past. This is a test for all of us and a test we must pass.

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