Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State's constructive statement and the strategy. It sets out the pathway for integration. This is significant because people here often do not understand the issue beyond knowing that people are living in institutions who are known as refugees and they do not interact with them. Any measures we take to facilitate that interaction helps avoid isolation on the part of migrants and lessens the chances of discrimination, but it also promotes understanding. Many of the fears and undesirable attitudes towards migrants stem from a lack of understanding both of the circumstances from which they come and of their different cultures. While we are very proud of our culture and the values we hold dear and that bind us together, notwithstanding differences, many other cultures have different ways of looking at things. That does not diminish their value in any way, and there are great opportunities there.

From the point of view of integration, once a charter or blueprint is set out, we are signalling that these people are valid and legitimate and we are acknowledging there are issues on integration that need to be addressed. When people are embraced and provided for, we are calling on them to be part of our communities and part of our nation, and for them to contribute as well as to enjoy the benefits of living here. That is a very desirable direction in which to travel. Often when we think of migrants we forget that we have children of migrants here who are Irish citizens, and there are children of different coloured skin who do not consider themselves any less Irish than white children. If they feel they are being discriminated against just because of the colour of their skin, what sort of society are we creating for the future and what sort of ghettoisation and discontent are we fostering in people who do not feel we can draw circles of inclusiveness big enough to include all the children of the nation?

I commend the Minister of State on his approach to all things to do with migration. I agree with some who have spoken here. It is not top of a political agenda because migrants do not have a vote, and that is the reality in communities. They are often from very difficult backgrounds and have ended up here. If we take stock by looking at international news, we cannot begin to appreciate and comprehend the difficulties. Syria is very explicit, but we can look at countries that are very impoverished, such as sub-Saharan African countries and Pakistan, and see what people have to live with in their daily life, going from cradle to grave in poverty that we will never know. We enjoy many benefits in our western democracy, notwithstanding that we are always striving to improve it and to improve equality. It gives food for thought. These things should be foremost in our minds when we meet and embrace people of other cultures.

I commend the people of Ballaghaderreen and also Senator Hopkins. She has been to the fore at the beginning and was treading water to begin with because there had been bad reactions to people from different countries coming in and misconceptions of what that would mean. People thought that things were being taken from them, that they were not ready and that we should look after our own first, one among several mantras trotted out. We all know in our own lives that emergencies do not come at convenient times and that we have to rise to the occasion as a humane society. We must do that in a responsible way. When Irish people see that there is a pathway and a way to facilitate people and empower them to participate in our society and to enrich it, it will be considered a very responsible thing to have done. We will reap the rewards of it. We are sowing very good seeds for the future.

In my home town of Ballina and in Castlebar we have welcomed programme refugees, including the Karen people from Burma, and I have to vouch for the community in Mayo that has embraced and helped the children and the adults through the whole culture shock of arriving here after what they had experienced in Burma. In Ballyhaunis there are people from all over the world. It must be the most multicultural place outside of Dublin. From Syrians to Pakistanis to those from eastern Europe and Africa, people are co-existing and working there. It is a fabulous place to go. The people are fantastic. The local GAA gets behind it. The Minister of State has been there. The only blemish there is the direct provision centre, and I would like to see us deal with that issue for the people who have had a question mark over their status for such a long time, in particular the children.