Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim céad fáilte roimh an Aire. Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh na cuairteoirí ar fad atá sa Ghailearaí. It is great to see such a multicultural gathering in the Gallery. It is unfortunate that the membership of the House is not as multicultural in nature but perhaps it will be at some point in the future.
I welcome this very important motion. As someone who is involved in quite an amount of work with people and groups from different cultural backgrounds, what strikes me most are the practical and current examples of racism in Ireland. Probably the most profound aspect of a very recent and moving presentation on direct provision in Galway related to the videos made by three teenagers in respect of their experiences of direct provision in the city. The teenagers in question referred to the attitude of other people towards them and the names they are called simply because they return to a hostel each night. They went on to describe how this makes them feel somehow lesser than other individuals. What we are discussing here, in a general sense, is the cultural issue of racism. However, there is also an issue with regard to State-bred racism and the direct provision system is an example of this. People, including the teenagers to whom I refer, are being put into that system - which was invented by Fianna Fáil and which the Government has, as yet, failed miserably to dismantle - and are subjected to racist taunts, comments, etc., as a result. That is completely unacceptable.
It is not good enough for us to simply wring our hands in respect of direct provision. We need to take action in respect of the system of direct provision which, like the Magdalen laundries in the past, is a scandal. As I have stated previously, it is being allowed to continue on this Government's watch. I hope the new Minister for Justice and Equality, who has previous experience of working with children, will look more favourably on reviewing the entire system and having the issues that arise in respect of it addressed.
The system we have in place also discriminates against members of other groups. I welcome the representatives from the Traveller community who are present in the Gallery. From my work with that community, I am aware that its members have encountered systemic issues which breed racism in Ireland. Some of those issues relate to the education system. For example, the cutbacks relating to education for Traveller children has had a huge impact, particularly in the context of how they relate to other children in their schools and communities as a result of the opportunities open to them.
On work opportunities for people from all sorts of different cultural backgrounds, there are those who find it much more difficult to obtain employment as a result of the colour of their skin or their ethnicity. That is simply unacceptable. A number of groups have brought to my attention the experiences of people of African ethnicity who are constantly harassed by the police. Even if they are speaking with a male of a different ethnicity, officers assume that a business transaction is taking place. Many instances of activity of this type have been recounted to me. For example, I am aware of the circumstances of a man who is living in a direct provision centre and who has a car and a driving licence. That individual has been informed by the police that he has no right to drive because he is an asylum seeker. He was asked how he can afford a car and told that if he can afford it, perhaps he should go back home.
As Senator Barrett indicated, we received a very good presentation from a garda earlier today on the subject of racism. However, there is a great deal of work to be done by the new Garda Commissioner, whomever he or she may be, in order to ensure that racism among members of the force is properly dealt with. At numerous meetings of joint policing committees in Galway city and county, I have repeatedly inquired about figures relating the reporting of racist incidents. Such figures are simply not available because they are not recorded. That matter was covered during the presentation to which I refer. I refer, for example, to circumstances where a member of the Traveller community might be attacked and where this would be recorded by the gardaí involved as an assault as opposed to a racist incident. There are serious misgivings about this matter among people other varying ethnic backgrounds and we are not obtaining a true picture of the nature of the racist incidents that are occurring. Up to now, the Garda has not had the will to record the type of figures to which I refer. We, as parliamentarians, and the Government must ensure that it does so in the future because we need to be in a position to gauge what is happening.
Another area of concern is that which relates to the use of labels and terminology. I have witnessed incidences of such labels and terms being used in this House. I am not trying to be sanctimonious but there have been occasions on which Members have used language which was not respectful to the members of ethnic minorities. When describing people, the media, politicians and professionals use terms such as "bogus", "illegal", etc., and this automatically presents a picture of individuals from different backgrounds not being as good as Irish citizens per se. This is a practice which must be challenged.
I welcome the call from the Immigrant Council of Ireland for Senators to support the motion. Sinn Féin certainly supports the motion but we are of the view that, if anything, it does not go far enough. We also support the call to the effect that there should be a national awareness campaign - based on those run by the Immigrant Council - in partnership with the National Transport Authority, etc.
Sinn Féin did well in the recent elections and received quite an amount of support from people of all ethnic backgrounds. We invited two ladies who are living in direct provision in Galway to come and celebrate with us on the evening of the elections. One of the women has been in the city for eight years and she informed me that it was the first occasion on which she had been out in a pub there since her arrival. That tells us something about the welcoming nature of Galway, which we would all say welcomes many people. The fact that people are isolated in the way I describe leaves a great deal to be desired. When the two ladies accompanied us into a local bar, I was very conscious of the reaction of other patrons. There is no question but that heads did turn and people did look. That is something which is not going to be easy to tackle and we need to do more work in our schools, etc., in respect of it.
I again welcome this important motion. As already stated, action is required in respect of this matter. There is no point in the House engaging in a debate on racism every six months while nothing changes. The incitement to hatred legislation must be buttressed and strengthened. The funding for many of the groups which work with people from ethnic minorities has been cut. This means that those who work to support such individuals are finding it difficult to cope and to continue to deliver services, which is simply not acceptable The Government must address this matter.

If on the one hand we say that we need to combat racism, we need on the other to make sure that we fund the organisations that are doing the vital work on the ground such as those represented by the people in the Gallery. An méid sin ráite, fáiltím roimh an rún. Tá aiféal orm go bhfuil an leasú molta ag an Rialtas agus ní bheidh muid ag tacú le sin ach leis an rún atá curtha síos ag na Seanadóirí. Tá súil agam, faoi cheann sé mhí, go mbeidh muid ag caint ar an dul chun cinn atá déanta seachas a bheith ag caint faoin mhéid atá le déanamh.