Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will say a few words of thanks to those local groups working very hard on the ground to counter misinformation and disinformation. Groups, such as Fingal Communities Against Racism, FCAR, which operate in my constituency, do huge amounts of work in welcoming people to our community and dispelling myths spread by members of the far right who are many and, believe me, FCAR is busy trying to counter their nonsense. People in these local groups are very quick to offer support. In the case of FCAR, it was also quick to call out the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for his dog whistling about the impact immigrants were having on the housing crisis. It was right to do that. We should never ever miss an opportunity to call out dog whistling no matter where it comes from.

My family is no different from any other family. We know what it is like to see loved ones forced to leave and we know the pain of emigration. In Ireland, many of us know the pain of separation and the worry and distress caused to family members who remain at home. We have all seen those signs - we saw them in our history books and we see them on the look-back programmes on television - stating, "No blacks, no dogs, no Irish". It was not that long ago. My father remembers those signs when he was forced to go to England for work in the 1960s. We are better than that. We are capable of learning from our past and our experience of racism. We should try to be better than those who treated us badly.

The Government repeatedly tells us we have never had it so good but it does not feel like that for many people. It wants us to believe it is a prudent manager of the economy but we are more than an economy. We are a society. We have a housing crisis caused in no small part by Government policy. New food banks are opening on a regular basis at a time of plenty. There are waiting lists in our health service that would make your eyes water at a time when finances are in surplus, and a cost-of-living crisis that leaves a widow forced to spend the money saved for her husband's headstone on her electricity bill. I say this because, for many people, it very much feels like "Upstairs Downstairs", when it comes to this Government.

When the ugly face of racism rears its head, we should stand strong in support of those who are vulnerable but should not be blind to the lived reality for people in many communities, where they have been so starved of resources they will tell you they believe this Government could not pick their area out on a map. Areas that have suffered from deprivation and neglect by successive Governments are among those most severely impacted by the housing and accommodation crisis. The housing crisis is the reason thousands of people are trapped in the hell of direct provision when they could and should be able to move on. Direct provision was a temporary solution that has endured for decades. When the Government proposes another temporary solution, I am sure the Minister of State will forgive people for being somewhat sceptical. As we know, direct provision was a temporary solution. This is the Government that pledged to end it but all the while, under its watch, the numbers have increased.

We need better communication but communication is not a veto. Communication is about letting communities know so that preparations can be made. It is also about ensuring that there is not an information vacuum because that vacuum will be filled by those who want to sow division. They will tell people in marginalised areas that the Government does not care and that it has information it will not share. In that regard, my most recent experience has not been a good one. I found myself on a list for circulation for information, with other people, when the only criteria for inclusion was that they lived in my town. Other Deputies were excluded from that list. That is not good practice and I sincerely hope it will not happen again. In the main, communities are not looking for a veto. They are looking for information. In the absence of that information, the vacuum is filled by people who seek to sow division and hate, and to cause problems. That is all they will do. If we do not have factual information with which to counter their nonsense, that is a very bad day.

I will briefly say a word about An Garda Síochána. We talk a lot in the House about the need to resource the Garda. We all agree with that. However, members of the Garda are saying they need guidance and leadership. That should be provided to them. Nobody wants to see a similar situation arise to that we have seen over the past number of weeks. Everyone should do everything in their power to resolve that and ensure it does not happen again. That requires information and guidance for the people who will be on the front line.

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