Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have a friend in Cavan, Paul Connolly, who is a brave and tireless campaigner on the point that Ireland, through its exploitation of its tax arrangements, has impoverished many countries in the developing world and that these countries' budgets for hospitals and education are weakened because Ireland became a tax heaven for multinationals. I base my perspective on this issue on our international or global solidarity concerns. I also have a personal perspective, brought to mind by Senator Ward's comments. I do not hold myself out as being a particularly good Christian but when I attend church in Dublin, in particular, I am always glad to see young families from Africa and India. I rejoice personally because they are contributing in a great way to the continuation, development and promotion of something I believe in very strongly. I regard myself very much as pro-migration and rejoice in the diversity that migrants bring to our society and in all they do for us; yet, at the same time, I am not in favour of uncontrolled migration. Therefore, while I always admire Senator Ward's eloquence and fluency as he goes around flogging the Government's agenda, I believe there was an element of cynicism when he waved around terms like "low-level racism" and "dangerous language" to try to have a chilling effect on the views, represented by some in this Chamber, of many people who are worried about the Government's mishandling of immigration and the possible dangers to our society as a result. It is not a good idea for Senator Ward, me or anyone else to attempt to comment on whether somebody is being a good or bad Christian if he or she expresses particular concerns. We should leave the diagnosis of each other's souls to another forum.

What I will say is this: in early 2020, the programme for Government offered a new migration integration strategy that promised a whole-of-government approach, involving own-door accommodation and wraparound supports. That was followed up by a ministerial tweet in eight languages announcing to the world all that the Government was doing. Then there was the Minister's amnesty, which I supported at the time, to clear the backlog of around 8,000 in direct provision. In hindsight, however, we can see that having an amnesty without firm border controls was a recipe for disaster – a foreseeable one, actually. It is not a matter of the 3,000 or 4,000 we were ready and able to absorb before the Government came into office but of a fourfold increase whereby, according to the latest count, over 30,000 people are now in IPAS accommodation. It is not sufficient for Senator Ward to suggest Denmark is different because it is in the Schengen area. He certainly did not explain that case, and that is just one reason we should not make a big decision here today without the kind of public consultation on the migration and asylum pact that the Government has run away from. We are making a big decision when we give away control over these particular decisions, having shown ourselves to be incapable of putting proper structure on the problem itself. A graph I have to hand shows the fourfold increase since the ministerial announcements I have mentioned.

We have a chaotic situation and it is impossible to know what combination of instances of Government ineptitude or indeed of ideological openness to open borders has led us to the situation we are now in. Yes, there are genuine asylum seekers for whom we must do what we can – that is only right and proper – but when we talk about economic migrants or poverty migrants, for whom we might have a lot of sympathy and want to do something and whom we might want to draw into our country as far as possible, we must also acknowledge that there are people whose origins we do not know, who may be opportunistic and who may present a danger. There is no openness to talking about that. Terms like "low-level racism" get bandied about when people express legitimate concerns about males. I hear Senator Ward's point on whether they are unvetted, but the reality is that people come from cultures that have different attitudes to women's rights. We can talk about the problem of radical Islam, and to say people should have no worries about this and that they are racist if they do is simply unacceptable. It is the type of suppression of the free exchange of ideas that is going on all over the shop these days, and it is contributing to massive fear and distrust in the country.

What people are right in diagnosing is that the Government does not understand integration. It does not understand that just providing a roof over the head of an irregular migrant is not what integration is about. Building community takes years and requires education and the acceptance of existing local identity. There is a ratio of newcomers to citizens beyond which efforts are doomed to failure, as other countries in Europe can testify to. Integration also requires a willingness by newcomers that cannot be presumed upon.

Where the expression of national sentiment is frowned upon, where the promotion of the Irish language and Irish identity is belittled, where new education curriculums in this country promote failed multiculturalism over integration and where there is a refusal to embrace the idea of healthy patriotism, it is even more difficult to grow community. The long-term welcoming of the stranger is a beautiful thing but it is conditional on the stranger's openness to continue the tradition into which he or she is being welcomed. I never hear this from liberal voices, whose noble instincts I applaud but whose naivete in the face of real-world problems and real people's fears I can only deplore.