Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. In his book Good Strategy/Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why it Matters, the American management professor Richard Rumelt says, "strategy is primarily about deciding what is truly important, and focusing resources and action on that objective". With this in mind, I welcome the Government's migration integration strategy. Ensuring that migrants receive all possible State and civic support is essential for their well-being and the well-being of the nation. I welcome the objective of identifying and removing barriers to integration in Ireland and the plan attached to achieve these goals. The 76 specific actions in the strategy are comprehensive. It is encouraging to note that the initiative runs for a four-year period instead of a longer timeframe that could have seen inertia creep in despite the vision expressed in the framework.

Regardless of whether we acknowledge it, a great deal of private and public racism and discrimination still exist in Ireland. There are people in society who have found it difficult to accept the presence of non-nationals who have arrived in the past few decades. In some places, migrants are still seen as a threat and as being different in the way they speak, dress, worship or socialise. They are still seen as the other, as not belonging here, not Irish or just not Irish enough.

Growing pains in a nation facing multiculturalism are not new, but the migration integration strategy is timely, given that it is published against a backdrop of nationalist sentiment around the globe that often seeks to vilify non-nationals, creating associated xenophobia and populism. Indeed, the Irish Government has tightened immigration through the International Protection Act 2015. I recently called for changes in the administrative processes involved so as to give asylum seekers a fairer chance of being considered as future citizens of the State.

The social, economic, cultural and political diversity that multiculturalism brings to Ireland enriches our society and is particularly healthy for young children, who are interacting with peers from a variety of countries. It has brought with it a large number of new denominational, non-denominational and evangelical churches nationwide. Census 2016 shows that the number of Muslims living in Ireland increased from 49,200 to 63,400 over the preceding five years. Members of the Romanian, Lithuanian, Polish, British and other communities have built thriving business enterprises that have created employment opportunities, while highly-skilled migrants are working as barristers, doctors, teachers and other professionals.

The aspirations and actions planned in the integration strategy are comprehensive, but ongoing development and, crucially, funding are needed for its implementation so that we can move from the realm of paper to that of progress. In order for the strategy to succeed, it needs to have greater visibility in the public sphere. I am concerned that it will remain a worthwhile theoretical document full of guiding principles to be consulted as a reference manual but not something to be delivered upon just because people are not aware of it. To transform the integration blueprint into a dynamic entity, it needs to be communicated and debated widely. To this end, it would be worth initiating a public information campaign across radio, television, print and online media. This would sell the strategy's key message to a larger audience, that message being that successful integration is the responsibility of Irish society as a whole and will, to cite the strategy, require "action by Government, public bodies, service providers, businesses, NGOs but also by local communities". It is not a perfect strategy, but it is a good roadmap to have in creating long-lasting intercultural equality.

According to Professor Rumelt, the core content of a strategy is the diagnosis of the difficulty involved, an overall framework for combating the obstacles and coherent, co-ordinated action. This strategy has identified the difficulties involved, provided a framework and outlined a series of actions that need to be taken, and I hope that the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, will secure as much in resources as is needed and is possible towards implementing it in full.

It would be impossible for me to ignore or not welcome the comments of colleagues in the House about the cruel direct provision system that Ireland still has. I often think of Voltaire's Candideand the idea that it is good to shoot an admiral from time to time "pour encourager les autres". It seems that this is how the direct provision is meant to work - to discourage others by providing for a system that fails to recognise the dignity of each human person.In February 2017 the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Fitzgerald, claimed in the second progress report on the implementation of the McMahon report recommendations that 92% of its recommendations had been implemented. This seems like political spin because, absent the fundamental things such as the right to education, work, and normal family life which are essential to the dignity of a person, the percentage of recommendations implemented simply cannot impress.

We need to rethink what type of society we have. The proclamation in the porch of Leinster House, which Members frequently show to visitors, contains the famous phrase that says we should cherish all the children of the nation equally. It was never meant to refer to underage persons but rather to Protestant, Catholic and dissenter. How can we congratulate ourselves on securing any kind of equality in our country when there is an entire class of people on our shores whose dignity is affronted by the lack of basic rights such as the right to work or prepare a meal for one's children in State-provided accommodation? While we have this system, we have a reason to be thoroughly ashamed of ourselves.

There are many non-State actors who deserve to be commended on their actions while the State fails to get to grips with this situation. My alma mater, the National University of Ireland, Galway, awards inclusive centenary scholarships that give high achievers among the new Irish, including refugees, a chance to go on and succeed in college. I hope the day comes when any young person in Ireland, whether living in a direct provision centre or not and whatever the circumstances in which they came to this country, would not be deprived of the opportunity to better themselves through education because that is the fundamental key to human progress.