Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

They did, absolutely. I worked for an anti-racism project when I came back which produced educational materials that were meant to be used in a small context and we were overrun with requests for them. One of the documents we produced with the Comhlamh anti-racism project was called "Myths and Facts" and was about asylum seekers. We talk about showing emotion. This referendum was loaded with the emotion of fear. There was an intensive use of myth and significant fear was built up at the time.

I found an email that I sent in 2004. Some of the myths and misinformation related to concerns that the EU was requiring us to hold the referendum. The EU did not require that, much as it has no problem with our recommendations on the route to citizenship. There is a variety of routes to citizenship across Europe. We should be concerned to ensure a race to higher and better standards throughout Europe rather than a race to the bottom. That was not a concern at the time. The masters of the hospitals clarified this. I wrote that as for the supposed overrun in our health services, the masters of the maternity hospitals stated clearly that they did not ask for a referendum but for more resources and that the cause of the crisis in maternity hospitals was years of Government cutbacks and closures. I said that Ireland's health service was highly dependent on the immigrant health professionals whose children would be negatively impacted. That is what we wrote and it was known at the time. I was on the doors during the referendum. In that same email, I wrote that the tide was turning as people considered the implications but I did not know if there was time for the tide to turn enough. It did not turn enough but I think it has since. We know that surveys now show that 71% of people believe those who are born in Ireland should be able to grow up and live in Ireland. We have also seen the tide turn in other referenda which have taken place since then. I put it to the Minister of State that regardless of the referendum, which we cannot rerun-----