Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Cooney and join other Senators in expressing sympathy following his bereavement in the summer.

The Cathaoirleach asked us not to stray into discussing the presidential election in the United States. While that is fair enough, at every opportunity before election day we must call out the racist buffoonery that appears to be becoming popular across the United States. The problem is not confined to America. As previous speakers noted, there are very unwelcome, xenophobic and racist comments being made by people from across the political spectrum in Europe. In the United Kingdom, such commentary is becoming mainstream. Immigration is extremely important and Mr. Cooney's wise words on the issue were very welcome.

The most rank hypocrisy in Irish public life can be observed when Irish politicians ask US Administrations and politicians to change their views on the status of Irish immigrants in America. How on earth can we, with a straight face, present ourselves in the White House with a bowl of shamrock every March while refusing point blank to do at home what we ask the United States to do? Between 20,000 and 26,000 undocumented individuals, including many children, live in Ireland. Last March, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child asked the Government to take steps to regularise these undocumented workers. Nothing has been done since. While we will have nodding heads around the Chamber and gushing declarations of love for our brothers, sisters and children in America, as is entirely appropriate, how on earth can we tell the US political system it must get its immigration system in order to benefit our children when we refuse to do the same here?

I ask representatives of all parties to leave hypocrisy at the door. They should ask the leadership of their respective parties what they are doing to regularise the position of undocumented workers in this Republic. The language used in this regard is interesting. When speaking about the American political system, we always use the term the "undocumented Irish" but the terminology somehow changes to "illegal immigrants" when we are describing undocumented workers in Ireland. The best symbol of goodwill we could possibly show in terms of what we want the US system to do is to do what we ask the US to do right here at home. Any US Senator, Congressman or President could easily ask, in response to all the lobbying being done in the United States, what we are doing at home and whether we are regularising undocumented workers or doing what the UN Committee for the Rights of the Child asked Ireland to do, because the answer is "No".I suggest, therefore, that after this debate is done, we all ensure that our respective political parties get the finger out and do what the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child asked us to do before we engage again in rank hypocrisy in March 2017 when a bowl of shamrock will be handed over to the US President. This grates on my sense of social justice, Ireland's place in the world and its responsibility to mankind.