Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)

I join the Minister in condemning the spate of racist attacks that we have seen in recent weeks and months. I am concerned across the political spectrum in many ways with respect to the approach to migration and immigration particularly and about some of the language being used. It sounds to me that we are almost in an arms race to the right in this regard. By legitimising the language and the modus operandi of the political right we are never meaningfully going to address any of the issues or concerns that people might have in respect of migration or immigration.

My party was one of the first political parties to bring forward a policy paper on migration in 2023. Migration has always existed and always will. The question we face as policymakers is how best to manage it to ensure a well-functioning, regulated system. I agree with the Minister on the need for a proper and transparent rules-based system. However, the reality is that people move. They move for a variety of reasons: some for work, some for love and some for safety. They move to make a better life for themselves and for their families. All of us as human beings want the same things: a good job, a secure home and most importantly, a safe life.

Global forced displacement is at a record high. Almost half of the people who flee globally are actually children. Most of those who are forced to move are not in or anywhere near Ireland. They are in poor and developing countries, which have shouldered the majority of the brunt of forced displacement. Global instability has contributed to a substantial increase in the numbers seeking international protection in Ireland. The numbers have risen from just under 5,000 in 2019 to more than 13,000 now, yet the direct provision system remains in place despite a commitment by the previous Government to abolish it.

Many communities throughout Ireland have been strong in the welcome and support they have provided for refugees but many of these communities, including communities I represent in Limerick, have been targeted with misinformation or disinformation. This has been worsened by a failure of both Government and State agencies to communicate properly with communities. Let me state first that nobody has a veto over where anybody can live, but we need to see local authorities, elected representatives and community representatives included early on in the information-sharing process. Local communities should be clearly informed of the additional resources, funding and services that will be put in place to support refugees and international protection applicants. We also need a robust campaign to combat fears, stereotypes, tropes and racism amongst the public in general. We need to see a national counter-disinformation strategy, which is in the programme for Government.

We need action in regulating social media and digital platforms. They are breeding grounds for hate. Minority communities are relentlessly targeted online and there are no consequences for those responsible. TikTok and X are consequence-free sewers for those who want to perpetuate racism and hate. We have also had at least 31 buildings burnt down with little or no consequences.

I was only elected in December of last year. On no less than four occasions since last December we have had a literal ring of steel around this place due to far-right, anti-immigrant protests, with people looking for us literally to be hung outside this very door. It has been terrifying at times. The fact of the matter is that these protests are organised on X and TikTok. There is a call to action and they are often live-streamed for hours. Yet, there are no consequences. Until we take on these social media conglomerates, we are at absolutely nothing. We need the EU Commission and Commissioner Michael McGrath to use the forthcoming democracy shield legislation to force social media companies to dismantle the recommender system that promotes hate and disinformation. They are actively pushing this at people.

I am sick and tired of seeing a minority of people take our national flag and seek to bastardise it.

They cannot be allowed to do that in our name. Our flag is a symbol of unity and peace and should not be used to sow hate and division. I urge everybody and all of us to take back the flag because the immigrant community in this country are afraid. There was a well-documented case in Dublin, in the Minister's constituency. I know of a concerning recent case where a Pakistani doctor working at University Hospital Limerick was subjected to a racially motivated physical assault. Our hospital is built on the backs of these people. If they decide to leave, we will be in serious trouble. The doctor was left feeling very vulnerable and abandoned after the attack.

Since the nineties, immigration has transformed this country into one in which one fifth of the population were born overseas. Is that not miraculous when compared with a country that, 40 years ago, was the sick man of Europe? Unfortunately, the housing crisis, which the Government has perpetuated, is fuelling misdirected resentment towards immigrants and asylum seekers. We need to be better at tackling this. We need proper anti-racism education. We also need proper hate crime legislation, which the Government has parked. People need protection from verbal and physical abuse based on ethnic, religious and cultural background. It is for us, as politicians, to show leadership on this. Every individual elected to the House has a responsibility to not perpetuate the spread of hate. Particularly in a position as privileged as the one we are in, we should not be stoking anti-migrant rhetoric. Repeatedly questioning the rights of people who have come to Ireland to seek international protection or for other reasons has real and harmful consequences for real people who live among us. People should not feel emboldened to harass or attack others based on their perceived race or ethnicity. I am calling on the Minister to fully enforce the hate offences Act of 2024, which provides for increased sentences for offences aggravated by hatred, based on characteristics such as race, religion, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics. As I said, we must update the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act to reflect the realities of online hate speech. We need full implementation of the national action plan against racism.

There are some welcome commitments in respect of integration in the programme for Government. They include references to the need for more investment in State-owned centres for staffing and providing emergency accommodation to everyone. However, the majority of commitments in respect of immigration and migration in the programme for Government are restrictive. A focus on restrictive measures will not solve the long-standing issues we have.

The fact of the matter is that this county is at boiling point. I do clinics every week, as do many of my colleagues. I deal with housing in the vast majority of cases. The amount of misinformation and disinformation I have to tackle, day in and day out, is frightening. It is frightening because so many buildings around this country have been burned down with little or no consequence for those who did it. We need a well-managed migration system - that is a fact - but we also need to ensure, as politicians in positions of leadership, that we are careful, measured and responsible with the language we use. I have been in this Chamber a number of times since last December and I have heard people say things and make statements. I have heard them use Leaders' Questions as a forum to stoke anti-immigrant sentiment. It is not acceptable and people, if they do not, should know a hell of a lot better. All across the world, the right is on the rise. Anti-immigrant sentiment is on the rise. We need to ensure that whatever we do in this House and this country, we do not make the situation worse.

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