Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have a formal statement on the implementation of the national integration strategy which I propose to read before commenting on the PolskaÉire 2015 festival. Before I begin, I take the opportunity to thank Shane Long for scoring the equaliser in the last minute of Sunday evening's game. The Government parties are criticised for many things and I suppose the Labour Party could have been criticised for increasing the motivation of the Polish soccer team to do well on home soil, as it were, on Sunday last. I was delighted, in the context of the stability of the Government, that Shane Long managed to score his last minute goal.

I welcome the motion and thank the House for giving me the opportunity to provide an update on where we stand in the development of the revised national integration strategy. A Private Members' motion on racism agreed by the Seanad in June 2014 called on the Minister to report back to the House on these matters. This is an opportune time to provide some further information on developments in this area.As Senators will be aware, the programme for Government contains a commitment to the promotion of polices which integrate minority ethnic groups in Ireland, including those policies which promote social inclusion, equality, diversity and the participation of immigrants in the economic, social, political and cultural life of their communities. The Government recognises the importance and value of the many new communities that are now an integral part of Irish society. The importance of these groups was recognised and underscored in a tangible manner through the assignment, in July last year, of specific responsibilities for new communities to a junior Minister. The assignment of responsibilities in this manner helps ensure that issues of importance to new communities are highlighted appropriately.

I am sure Senators will be aware that we are in the process of reviewing Ireland's strategy on integration. This follows a decision which was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Social Policy early last year. The work on this review is being carried forward by a cross-departmental committee of senior officials and it is chaired by a senior official in my Department. The mandate of the cross-departmental group includes the following specific tasks - to review the activities being undertaken by Departments and agencies directed to promoting the integration of non-Irish nationals; the preparation of a draft overarching integration strategy taking account of the policies and actions already being implemented; and undertaking consultation with key stakeholders.

An important part of the work of the group was to engage in a meaningful way with members of the public. In order to do this, a two-fold approach was undertaken by the committee. The first step was to place a call in media outlets inviting submissions from interested parties who wished to contribute to the work of the group. The closing date for contributions was May 2014 and I am delighted to say that more than 80 submissions were received from a wide range of organisations and groups providing services to migrants.

The second phase of the consultation process was a series of face-to-face meetings with some of those who contributed material for consideration by the group. Five consultation sessions were held, with each session lasting one day and involving a series of sub-meetings with members of the public. A total of 27 separate groups, one individual and a group of seven individuals met with the cross-departmental group during these sessions. This segment of the consultative process facilitated the highlighting of, and in-depth discussions on, issues of particular concern. They also permitted those contributors present the opportunity of imparting their personal experiences to the committee. I understand that those who participated in these meetings, both from the official side and the non-government side, found these face-to-face interactions to be valuable.

Separate to the above process, the cross-departmental group also held a series of thematic meetings which addressed particular issues. The topics discussed during these meetings included promoting inter-cultural awareness and combating racism and xenophobia; education; social inclusion and access to public services; employment and pathways to work; and active citizenship. In addition, suggestions which were made in the context of written contributions have been collated and circulated to the relevant Departments and associated agencies for consideration.

Work on the development of the updated integration strategy is ongoing and I expect that a draft strategy will be sent to key stakeholders for their observations before the summer, with a view to the strategy being published as soon as possible thereafter. I hope that the resulting recommendations on migrant integration will form the basis of a new and more comprehensive overarching strategy, which is capable of meeting present needs and expected future conditions of society.

According to Census 2011, we have a situation where non-Irish nationals account for more than 500,000 or 12% of the population and where there has been a rapid growth in the non-Irish population over the past decade or so. We now have people from more than 199 countries living in the State. This can pose challenges but it can also provide opportunities. There have, unfortunately, been circumstances where individuals have experienced racism and xenophobia. I want to be clear in expressing my views on such behaviour - it is not acceptable and we will do everything possible to combat it.

I am aware there have been calls for the legislation on racism to be reviewed and this issue is a topic which is being looked at by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality in terms of its ongoing work on integration, multiculturalism and combating racism. I fully expect that the legislation to combat racism will be considered in the context of the outcome of the review of the Oireachtas committee and following publication of the Government's integration strategy. In the meantime, I urge those who are affected by manifestations of racism to report the matter to the appropriate authorities.

I am aware of the excellent work that NGOs in this sector have been doing in providing support and assistance to those who have been victims of racism, and I commend them on this. Of equal importance is their advocacy role in opposition to racism and in seeking to keep the focus of Government and of society generally on this problem.

I am pleased that the motion commends the holding of the PolskaÉire Festival 2015. This is an initiative I have had in mind for some time because I saw it as important to recognise the Polish influence in present day Ireland. It is estimated that there are 150,000 Polish citizens living in the State, resulting in Polish becoming the second most widely spoken language here. It also seemed to me to be a worthwhile exercise in furthering integration of Poles in Irish society and promoting contact between Irish, Polish and other nationalities, through a range of cultural, artistic, social, sporting and other events and catering for different age groups. I thought it would be a good idea if the festival was organised on the occasion of the Republic of Ireland v. Poland international, and that proved to be the case.