Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Members for their interesting comments on the future direction of immigration policy. In the short time I have been in the Chamber I observed great unity among Members in support of the approach we are adopting. That many Members have much to contribute indicates the complexity of the issue of immigration. I reiterate that we have an unique opportunity in Ireland to get it right in terms of how we deal with this issue. Members will often have heard the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, say that in the context of learning from the mistakes of other countries and our becoming a truly international example of best practice in dealing with this issue.

Ireland has been transformed by immigration. I heard what Senator O'Donovan said. Anybody who works in Dublin city and elsewhere in the country recognises the positive contribution immigration has made to this country. It has thrown up challenges and raised some fears but overall a positive contribution has been made by all of those who have chosen to come to live here. We have been enriched by people from a wide variety of cultures who have come to live among us. However, we must ensure we do not squander the goodwill that currently undoubtedly exists.

The Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, has consulted the Civil Service commissioners on mechanisms to encourage non-Irish nationals to join the public service. Another priority is the encouragement of ethnic entrepreneurship. The Minister of State was a great supporter of the Emerge programme, when he was Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs with responsibility for overseas development, which greatly aided non-Irish nationals to establish businesses. As the Minister of State develops Ireland's integration policy in the next few months, he will seek to meet with and to listen to all stakeholders. He described the mechanisms he intends to put in place for that to happen.

I reiterate that we are at a very exciting stage in developing integration policy. We recognise the importance of proper planning, which is essential. We will put in place consultation measures with other Departments to ensure the mainstreaming of Ireland's integration policy into all areas of strategic planning.

The comments of the Members who spoke have been useful and the Minister of State will take them on board in developing his policy for the future.