Feargal Quinn (Independent)

As an employer over the years, I was always greatly satisfied when immigrants integrated well into our society. However, a number of immigrants do not integrate very well. Yesterday, the question of who has responsibility to help immigrants to integrate into our society cropped up at a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs. It emerged that nobody has such responsibility. I am thinking of immigrants who arrive in Ireland to take up low paying jobs, usually cleaning and washing. They work only with people of their own nationality and they only speak their native language. When they finish work, they return to a ghetto-like apartment or home. They never learn English and they do not integrate. The State has a responsibility to help them integrate and somebody should have this function. It also emerged at yesterday's meeting that it is likely that 575,000 immigrants will move to Ireland over the next five years. On that basis, there is an onus on the State to help them integrate and somebody should take that responsibility. I seek a debate on this issue.