Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

My remarks will be short. A number of the points I wish to raise have been raised by other Senators. Others have discussed the question of the habitual residency condition and the obstacles it has caused and the problems of the direct provision system, which we still need to move past. The message conveyed by the Minister of State and the migrant integration strategy is very committed and displays very positive sentiments.

There is a need for stronger tangible goals and targets. I recognise some targets have been set in the area of education and employment but in many other areas, the strategy lacks tangible goals. Opportunities for employment have been discussed but the right to work is still an issue. As has been said, Ireland is an extraordinary outlier in not allowing the right to work. That creates extraordinary vulnerability. People cannot make gaps in their lives suddenly or magically disappear when they have spent two, three or seven years in the direct provision or asylum system only to be suddenly told they are now migrants who have opportunities. The asylum process has damaged individuals and families and is still doing so.

The proposal should be explicitly based on a stronger human rights and equality basis. The issue is not individuals integrating but rather Ireland being an equal society. Racism and discrimination, which are the flipside of equality, need to be named more strongly because at a time of much xenophobia and racism across Europe, we need to be robust in having policies that acknowledge discrimination and racism and take action to stem them.

The International Protection Act 2015 brought in a single application procedure. The Act has had chaotic consequences for individuals and families, particularly in recent months, as people struggle to fill in multi-page applications under very tight deadlines with thinly-stretched legal support. There are problems in how we are currently dealing with international protection. A welcoming committee when an applicant comes out the other side is not enough. We need to give genuine and meaningful support to people as they attempt to navigate the process. The International Protection Act has failed to do so and has created difficulty in that regard. It has had very troubling consequences in respect of family reunification because the concept of family that is allowed to most people in this State is not the same as that which is recognised under our current family reunification laws. That is discriminatory.

I welcome the strategy and the signal it sends for Ireland and the role we want to play in positive integration. We are a country of migrants and have an international responsibility to give a positive narration in that regard. I congratulate Senator Hopkins and others who have worked to bring that to a local level. We will be celebrating Africa Day on Sunday, which is another opportunity for us to celebrate the positive aspects that diversity has brought and will continue to bring to our society. I commend all those who have worked on such initiatives.