Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Higgins. Is í seo an chéad uair atá seans agam é sin a rá ó ainmníodh mar Aire Stáit í. Comhghairdeas léi. Táim buíoch di as teacht anseo inniu.

I wish to talk about a social inclusion measure in the naturalisation process. At the outset, I wish to say clearly that I think immigration is hugely important for this country. It is a good thing for this country. It is necessary for this country in supporting our economy and providing workers and taxpayers for our economy. It is full of potential from the point of view of producing a progressive and advancing population on the island of Ireland.I am very much for immigration and it is important to distinguish immigration as it is often confused with migration. I refer to the controversy that has recently occurred in respect of international protection. The people who come to Ireland and choose to make Ireland their home and place of work, the place where they pay taxes and, in the future, raise families, want to be part of Ireland. They want to come here, be part of our community and contribute to Ireland. We, as a State, do nothing to facilitate that. We do nothing to help them - I hesitate to use the word "integrate" because I do not want any of them to leave behind their own cultural norms, values and richness, which benefit us all - to understand our norms and cultural richness. There is an opportunity for the State to contribute to that but it is doing nothing in that regard. One of the ways that it is done across Europe is through a citizenship exam, but I am talking more about a structured system whereby we can greet people who come to make their homes here, give them classes on Irish citizenship, be they cultural or language classes, because there is a huge opportunity for the Irish language here, and at the end of the day, ask them to demonstrate, through an exam or some other process, that they have an understanding of those cultural norms. It is an opportunity for us to include them to an even greater extent in our community so that we have common popular culture references and historical references in order for them to have an understanding of the community they are entering and therefore have a much greater chance of being a functional and inclusive part of it.

As I said, this happens across Europe. The Netherlands is a prime example. It has a very comprehensive programme which educates people on the history of the Netherlands and its cultural references, but also gives them a number of hours of tuition in the Dutch language, if they choose to take it up. They all sit an exam, with allowances made for people who have difficulties and whatever it might be, but the key point is that if a person cannot pass the exam, it does not mean he or she has to leave; it just delays the naturalisation process. It does not affect the person's status as somebody who has the right to live, work and rear a family in the Netherlands. I am not talking about something exclusive or exclusionary, but something that is quite the opposite. It is something that includes people and gives them a road to become a true part of Irish society. In that regard, we have these naturalisation processes all over the country, which is a wonderful thing. I know there is one coming up next month in the INEC in Killarney and another in the Convention Centre Dublin. Why not have them at an even more local level, however? All of the people who come and choose to make their homes here live in local communities, not just in Killarney and Dublin but in towns and villages all over the country. We have local government infrastructure in each of those towns and villages. We have a local cathaoirleach or mayor or even the chair of a municipal district. Would it not be much better to have smaller and more intimate naturalisation ceremonies involving the local community? These ceremonies used to be done in District Courts but it has moved now to a larger scale ceremony. These are joyous occasions, when people who have gone through a lengthy process become part of our wider Irish community. Let us do it at a local level, where they live and work and where their neighbours are, and therefore have a truly inclusive and welcoming process for them.