Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Tréaslaím leis ar a cheapachán. Tá súil agam go gcabhróidh an díospóireacht atá ar siúl anseo inniu leis san obair atá idir lámha aige. Tréaslaím freisin leis an Seanadóir Mullen toisc an suim atá léirithe aige san ábhar seo. Cabhraíonn an bunobair agus an taighde atá déanta aige linn uilig anseo.

I am pleased the debate is taking place today. I do not believe any of us has a monopoly of compassion in this area. The debate is about one thing only - how we can help the Minister of State, the Department and the Government in this very important area. A term that comes to mind immediately is human dignity. That has to be the foundation of whatever we might do for these visitors who come to our country, whether we call them asylum seekers or by any other title. I always think of Irish people who emigrated in the past to America or Britain and realise there is absolutely no difference in the story of Ireland and emigration and that of the asylum seekers we are talking about. There was good and bad in regard to the Irish story at that particular time. The deficiencies and the inadequacies which existed are still part of our folklore today. We still hear how Irish people were treated in the countries of their adoption. We should learn from that and ensure a similar situation does not apply when we have the opportunity, the power and the resources to do what is right in this case.

I have seen many asylum seekers who have integrated well into Irish society and have found them to be an enriching influence on ourselves. It is clear from our history that the same thing happened when people came to Ireland down through the centuries. It was they who made up the story of Ireland that we have today. The people we are talking about can make a very positive contribution to our way of thinking, our views on life and our interaction with other countries. That is from where we must start. We must not see them as a nuisance or as a chore that we have to go through. We should extend a céad míle fáilte to them and do everything possible to give them the opportunity to realise their aspirations and ambitions in life not only for themselves, but their children. That is very important.

We must look at the case histories at our disposal today for all the good that has been achieved. We must acknowledge that and if we fail to do so we are playing politics with the subject itself. However, we must also look at the other side. That people find themselves in a limbo for, say, 60 months is not acceptable under any circumstances. Just as a person might find himself or herself institutionalised in another situation, there is an aspect of institutionalisation in this instance, when a person lives in those conditions for five years which does not give one the opportunity to use whatever resources are available because of the way one has been treated. There is also a mindset which is exceptionally important. If people believe they are not considered to want to make a contribution in the country of their adoption, emotionally there will be certain constraints on them from day one. There is another aspect to it also. Let us think of the community in which they are residing. If they are residing in what is basically an institutionalised state, how does the community view them? In the past we have seen how badly Travellers have been treated and stigmatised and demonised. We knew it was wrong at the time and we have always known it was wrong. Later we saw what came out of that. There were certain excesses on the side of Travellers which was not fair to them.

I am aware the Minister of State intends to have a hands-on involvement in this area. I would say to him if it is a matter of resources that we are not talking about huge resources. If it is mismanagement of resources, as one Senator mentioned, that should be looked at, but above all else the culture of welcome is important. The case histories which we could all enumerate for the next couple of hours may be the exceptions, although I do not think they are the exceptions but whatever they are they should be tackled.

The media coverage of people who are being prepared to be sent out of the country is absolutely heart rending and heart breaking. They are people who have been here for a while, have settled down and worked with their neighbours and are respected and admired and have made a contribution to society. They are being taken from Ireland and exported rather than deported, often back to a dangerous environment again. That is not good for Ireland, our morale or our mindset that this should be happening on our island in our name when we can do something about it. I wish the Minister of State well. This issue is not a political football and it should not be a political football. We should all work together through the agencies and the spokespersons for the asylum seekers whom I have found to be very tolerant, well researched, focused and realistic. That is a good starting point.