Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

My plans for next year also include the establishment of a ministerial council for integration. This will be solely representative of immigrants and will allow ongoing input by immigrants into policy issues.

The third structure I intend to establish is an ongoing commission on integration. This will include a broad representation of stakeholders to reflect the groupings and interests emerging from the work of the task force. The commission will advise me on all aspects of the development of policy in the integration area. It will be a standing commission designed to be a focal point not only for me and the Department but also for the sector developing around integration issues and themes.

An ongoing range of strategic studies will also help inform policy development in the integration area. In particular, the Government is aware of the crucial role of the English language for all legally resident migrants and we have commissioned a study to examine this area. I will refer further to this.

In addition, a study has been carried out on appropriate funding mechanisms for ethnic minority organisations. The report was commissioned under the national action plan against racism, NPAR, and my officials and I are examining it. A study on interpretation and translation services is also under way.

With regard to initiatives in the Garda Síochána, more than 450 ethnic liaison officers have been appointed throughout Ireland. In addition, intercultural consultative forums between the Garda and members of minority communities are organised locally and nationally. The Garda is also actively recruiting people from minority communities.

The development of a national intercultural health strategy was supported under NPAR. This strategy is due to be launched in February 2008. It will provide a framework through which staff and service users may be supported to participate actively and meaningfully in designing, delivering and evaluating provision of health care to minority ethnic service users in Ireland. An important objective of the strategy is the reduction of social exclusion experienced by many in this group enhancing their access to health services and in the longer term, promoting positive health outcomes and social gain.

The action plan highlights that it can only succeed if local communities are active players in delivery of its objectives. To this end, local anti-racism diversity plans are a central plank of the strategy's recommendations. The purpose of the anti-racism diversity plans is to foster a co-ordinated approach at local city and county strategy level consistent with the aims and objectives of the national action plan against racism. My office will expand on this initiative and will work towards assisting local authorities to develop integration plans.

Under NPAR, research has been commissioned into the adequacy of Ireland's legislation on racially motivated crime. This research is to be published in early 2008. NPAR also supports research on housing policy arising from increased cultural diversity in Ireland. The research will scope key issues arising in public and private housing and the implications for planning future housing policy and estate management. The research will be targeted at specific local authority areas.

Funding has been provided to sports clubs and societies to address issues of racism. The aim of these grants is to enable organisations to raise awareness about racism and to highlight cultural diversity in Ireland. Historically, sport has in some instances been a breeding ground for religious and cultural divisions. In reverse, it can provide the solution by virtue of its wide and powerful appeal. Recognising the potential to use this power to influence a wide audience, the FAI has developed an intercultural strategy, appointed an intercultural officer and brought anti-racist and integration messages directly into the sporting spotlight.

NPAR also supports diversity management initiatives in the corporate sector. It is important that Irish businesses develop long-term strategies for integration of their diverse workforces. Research to promote the business case for diversity has also been commissioned. It is anticipated that this research will be concluded in the latter half of 2008. We expect that it will identify good practice and that the learning from this research can be transferred to the workplace through publications, events and training.

Senators may be aware that a cross-departmental group was established by the Government in February 2007 to carry out a review of existing integration policy and to provide an initial assessment of future policy options. The group was chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach. The review was completed in May 2007, prior to my appointment. A policy framework document was submitted, which we hope to publish shortly. I also intend to take over the chairing of this cross-departmental group to ensure that a high level of co-ordination exists across those Departments which provide integration services.

From a strategic point of view, Ireland adopts a mainstreaming approach to integration whereby statutory service providers take full responsibility for delivering services to a new Irish society within which newcomers and Irish are simply constituent parts. Recognising that minority groups have needs which cannot always be addressed within the existing mainstream framework, the State also provides funding for targeted initiatives.

Funding aimed at migrants has been included in the 2008 Estimates for a number of Departments. In addition, my office has been allocated a budget of more than €9 million for next year. This will provide strategic seed funding for a number of initiatives which will greatly facilitate the economic, social and political integration of new immigrants into Irish society. I plan to develop new funding streams to help create and mobilise existing and emerging institutions such as faith groups, trade unions, employers and large membership groups including political parties.

Within the Department of Education and Science, my brief is to ensure that the range of education policies across different areas of the Department and the bodies under its aegis take account of the need to integrate immigrants and their families, and also to co-ordinate the work of the Department of Education and Science on the integration of newcomers with the related work of other relevant Departments and agencies. To assist me with the education portion of my brief, the Department of Education and Science has established an integration unit which will co-ordinate planning and strategy with regard to newcomer issues.

In the 2006 to 2007 school year, we had approximately 340,000 pupils in our post-primary schools. Of these, 17,000 were newcomer pupils from more than 160 nations. The top ten counties of origin included the UK, Poland, Nigeria, Lithuania, the USA, Spain, Germany, Philippines, Latvia and South Africa. More than 446,000 pupils attend primary schools and it is estimated that approximately 31,000 of these are newcomer pupils.

Within primary and post-primary education, the key requirement for the integration of young students for whom English is a second language is the provision of language support teachers. More than 1,900 language support teacher posts are allocated to primary and post-primary schools compared to 260 in the school year 2001-02. Some schools with more than 121 students for whom English is their second language have up to six language support teachers. This will cost more than €120 million in 2007 and 2008.

Many resources have been prepared for the teachers and the schools. On Monday, I was delighted to launch a toolkit for diversity in primary schools, Together Towards Inclusion, with the Minister for Education in Northern Ireland, Caitríona Ruane. In the new year, language assessment packs will be provided to primary schools to assist teachers in determining the language proficiency of pupils at the initial stage and also for on-going assessment.

Other key resources include the intercultural guidelines prepared by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment for primary schools and also for post-primary schools. Integrate Ireland Language and Training has also prepared resource materials for primary and post-primary schools as well as provided a programme of support for English language teachers to assist them in meeting the English language needs of their pupils.

On arrival in Ireland many parents may not speak or read English and are unfamiliar with the Irish education system. To assist these parents and others, information on the education system has been placed on the Department's website in six languages, including Polish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, Spanish and German. In addition, a newcomers' area has been developed on the website to provide relevant educational material in different languages.

A DVD on the primary school curriculum has been also produced by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, for parents in English, Irish, French, Polish and Lithuanian. Entitled, The What, Why and How of Children's Learning in Primary School, it is also available on broadband video.

The Economic and Social Research Institute has been commissioned by the Department of Education and Science to undertake a large-scale study into how an increasing diversity of students impacts upon resource requirements and day-to-day teaching and learning. The research is organised in two phases, the first involving a national survey of primary and post-primary school principals and the second involving detailed case studies of a sample of primary and post-primary schools. This will involve focus groups and an in-depth examination of the manner in which integration is taking place and the challenges posed in the classroom.

In 2008 the inspectorate of the Department of Education and Science will start to conduct an evaluation of the provision of English as an additional language in a number of schools and in 2009 it plans to publish an analysis of its findings as a composite national report. These reports will provide vital data which will inform future developments in the primary and post-primary schools.

More than 12,000 places are being taken up by migrants learning English in classes provided by the national network of 33 vocational education committees. Asylum seekers are entitled to attend the VEC English language classes for adults. As I indicated, the Department of Education and Science, in conjunction with the office for integration, has commissioned an independent review to assist in the development of a national English language training policy and framework for legally resident adult immigrants based on extensive stakeholder consultation. This study is due for completion in early 2008 and involves extensive consultation with stakeholders, including providers of English language training, that is, vocational education committees, third level institutions, private providers and NGOs. Vitally, it will also consider the views and attitudes of migrants, as individuals and through their many representative organisations. The recommendations of the review will help inform the development of a national English language training policy and framework for adult immigrants.

Most qualifications are now recognised on the ten level national framework of qualifications, which includes learning achieved at all levels from the most basic, level one, to the most advanced, level ten. The National Qualifications Authority of Ireland established Qualifications Recognition Ireland as a one-stop shop for inquiries regarding the recognition of awards from other countries, whether for purposes of employment or access and progression to further education and training. It is important to note that the information provided by Qualification Recognition Ireland is advisory in nature.

Considerable work has been done by the Department of Education and Science and its agencies. There is a commitment to take account of the needs of immigrant children and their families. Schools are seeking to create an inclusive, integrated environment in which, through a two-way process, all students will be welcome and experience a high quality education that will enable everyone to achieve his or her full potential, participate fully as members of our increasingly intercultural society and contribute to our social and economic development.

We have reached an exciting and challenging stage in developing an intercultural Ireland. We recognise the need to plan for the new diverse Ireland and ensure the voices of immigrants and the indigenous population inform the development of comprehensive integration policies for the future. We must all work together to cultivate a culture of respect and tolerance that celebrates difference and fosters creativity and self-reliance. A successful integration approach requires the contribution of all sectors of civic society, including the new communities, host communities, social partners and civic society organisations. The responsibility for successful integration falls on all of us, working together in partnership, to achieve a common goal.

After six months in my current portfolio, I believe we have an opportunity to get inward migration right. When one considers the position in our European Union neighbours and across the European Continent, it is clear that not one country has been a success in this area. We can and will get this right. Ireland has shown in the past decade that it can transform itself from a high emigration and high unemployment society to a country of full employment which cherishes all its citizens. It is possible to continue on this path with the newcomers who are coming to our shores.