Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The time for straight talking on this issue is long overdue. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, is an absolute disgrace. The Minister's arrogance and patronising stance towards communities is being remarked upon by Members of his own Government in briefings to the press almost every week that passes.

Only this week, The Sunday Timesrelayed the story of how officials in the International Protection Office were aghast at his ridiculous decision to send out a tweet in eight different languages, effectively making Ireland the destination of choice for international protection applicants both real and fake. Has the Minister experience in the tourism industry or with travel agencies? Is he becoming a travel agent for Ireland? Senior coalition figures are saying that the level of arrogance and hubris is astonishing and that the Minister has "let the anti-immigration genie out of the bottle."

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, John Drennan conveyed comments such as these from the Minister's so-called colleagues. One said:

'He says he won't be going to meet the people. Then he says, 'I will only meet some of the people'. And then it evolves into, 'I will only meet those people who are acceptable to me'.

The article goes on to say that:

One FF TD said: 'O'Gorman has created a backlash in rural Ireland. The rural economy has been closed down [and devastated] by a coterie of Dublin ministers.'

The article continues:

The view was echoed by Fine Gael TD Michael Ring, [with whom I agree in this case] who said: 'Jobs are being lost to tourism that we have been building for 40 years. We are throwing tourism suppliers to the wolves.'

The Minister's response to communities has been to make decisions deeply affecting them and to ignore them or accuse them of being some kind of pawns of the far right. It is unacceptable.

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