John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Regan for his comments and questions. There is nothing like Senator O'Donovan coming in on my first day to give me a hard time.

Before I refer specifically to some of the comments made, I would like to say that on previous occasions when I was involved in debate in this House on legislation, the Charities Bill in particular, the debate that occurred influenced and affected the outcome of the legislation. I hope that the same will happen when we talk about the issue of integration. This is not something on which any one person has all the answers. It is important that we listen attentively to the sort of debate we have had here today and elsewhere because other countries are years ahead of us. We need to learn from other experiences of what works.

Senator Regan mentioned that the previous Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, intended to establish a council, commission or task force but that we had rowed back from that. While that was his intention, we have had two budgets since then and we face a different economic outlook. Now, various bodies such as those are being brought back within Departments. That does not mean it is not important to consider such a council and I will look at whether some such committee or council should be established to allow the passing to me of information from those people who are directly involved or whoever is in this position. However, the type of plan envisaged by the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, is not possible in the current economic climate.

I think Senator O'Donovan, who gave me such a grilling, forgot he is on the same side of the House as I am. I do not have the answers to all the questions he asked me, but I will refer to one or two. Since the census in 2006, the number of foreign nationals here continued to increase. In the fourth quarter of 2008, the CSO estimated there were 476,000 such persons aged 15 and over here. Out of a total population in that age profile of 3.5 million, this approximates to one in seven people being foreign nationals. The number of non-nationals was lower then than in the earlier quarters of 2008 as the recession had begun to take effect. I do not have the figures to hand because the Senator did not advise me he wanted that information, but the drop is substantial in the registration for PPS numbers. The trend is substantially downward.

I wish to clarify one point made by the Senator. He referred to the 600 trained ethnic liaison officers within the Garda Síochána. They are not there just to deal with complaints. Their role is more than that, it is to work with communities, liaise with them and assure them of services and protection. They are not part of a complaints board per se. The Senator also asked me an awkward and complicated question about costs, going back to 1997. I will see what information is available on that. I thank the Senators for their contributions this afternoon.