In the middle of a national crisis, we now need all-party approach on migrant issue
AT THE start of the year I said I hoped the warmth for which the Irish people are renowned would come back centre stage. And that the silent majority would find their collective voice to reject racist violence.
So far, those hopes have not been realised. The situation has become worse. Hardly a day has gone by without voices being raised against plans to open centres for migrants.
We have seen protests in Roscrea, Ballinrobe, Carlow, and other places. We’ve had arson attacks on premises in Longford, Ringsend, and Tipperary. Every effort by State authorities to house these unfortunate people is being stymied.
This country is dealing with a crisis and must take unprecedented measures to deal with it. Despite the Government sending clear signals to intending entrants to our country, the numbers keep rising. For instance, the Department of Integration announced that it could no longer guarantee accommodation for newly arriving refugees. The Government dramatically reduced weekly welfare payments to Ukrainian refugees from €232 to €38.80. There was a time when messages like this would deter people coming here. But refugees still keep coming.
Once they arrive on our land we, as a State, are obliged to give them bed and board. We are legally obliged to provide this basic assistance once they arrive on our shores. But in my opinion – quite apart from our international obligations – as a wealthy, developed society we also have a moral duty to protect those people fleeing conflict in their homelands.
Tragic
About 27,000 people have come here seeking protection in the past two years. On top of this, 103,000 Ukrainians have arrived, fleeing from the war in their country, many of whom have gained full employment and have fully integrated into communities where they have set up home.
There was a time when a large majority of people trying to enter our State were economic migrants, moving to European countries such as Ireland for a better life for them and their families. They were not fleeing war or strife in their homeland. Nowadays, the vast majority of people coming here are fleeing conflict – in war-torn Afghanistan, Somali, Syria and Ukraine. Therefore, they have to be protected.
Voices are raised in some areas to the effect that ‘Ireland is full’. Nothing is further from the truth. We have one of the most dispersed populations in the EU. For instance, Malta caters for 1,700 people per square kilometre on its territory. The Netherlands has 424. We have 72 per square kilometre. Contrary to widespread suggestions, we are not the EU country taking in the most Ukrainian refugees. We are the ninth-highest among EU states, far behind the Czech Republic and Poland.
For the past few decades, the southern states of the EU have had to deal with enormous numbers of migrants trying to enter Europe, often with tragic consequences. The Governments of the most affected of these states – Italy, Greece, Malta and Cyprus – have struggled with this for the past few decades. They have called on other, more northern states, such as Ireland, to take a fair share of these people. The term ‘burden-sharing’ became a mantra within the EU, meaning that all EU states were obliged to take a proportionate share of migrants coming to the EU.
The UK political system has been in upheaval for years because of this. Britain’s latest effort to stop migrants is to threaten that they will be sent to Rwanda. Hopefully, we will never countenance such an inhumane proposal here. The Dutch are considering mandating each of their 342 local authorities to take a proportionate number of refugees based on a population. In other words, burden-share. This is to deal with the fact that many of the richest areas in the Netherlands have refused to provide permanent or temporary accommodation for refugees.
Here, we have heard a lot of ‘we’ve taken our fair share’ from some of those objecting to new centres being set up in their localities. Other excuses are that there are not enough resources available, such as school places or GP appointments. A lot of this rhetoric is exaggerated. We have long heard about rural Ireland ‘dying on its feet’. Surely then, new people coming to those places can help revitalise it.
No one can deny that the change over the past few decades, whereby Ireland has gone from being a single-ethnic society to a multicultural one, has been anything other than beneficial for our society. Without migrant workers, we would have huge deficits in the number of workers we need across our economy. Anyone who has visited a hospital in this State will see that our health service could not do without the thousands of migrants workers it has. The same can be said in every sector right across our land.
The people coming here to escape war and persecution have caused a huge headache for our State authorities. They come here in a sudden and unplanned way. The State support services are trying to catch up with the situation. The Department of Integration, tasked to find accommodation for these people, is overwhelmed.
This task is not helped by some in local communities coming up with spurious reasons as to why they cannot accommodate refugees in their locality. ‘It wasn’t handled properly,’ is heard, or ‘we need more consultation’. I’m not convinced that the response would have been any different even if more notice and consultation had been provided.
Haphazard
Much criticism has been levelled at our Government and authorities. It seems to me that Minister Roderic O’Gorman and his Department of Integration have been hung out to dry by the rest of the Government departments and their ministers.
Mind you, O’Gorman did lead with the chin. Before he realised the extent of the problem, three years ago, he apparently promised international protection applicants their ‘own front door within four months’.
He and his department have been expected to handle all the sourcing of accommodation for refugees. The Department of Integration is out of its depth. When it was formed, it was cobbled together with a very diverse spread of responsibilities. It cannot be regarded as one of the major departments of State.
A whole-of-Government approach must be adopted. The Taoiseach and the other party leaders will maintain that they are all equally working together on the problem. But the haphazard response suggests that all is not well behind the scenes.
Some of the buildings chosen are unsuitable. Their choice smacks of desperation. A better solution would be for the State to rapidly build dedicated reception centres. They have been promised but nothing is on the horizon. Why? The usual planning and other roadblocks, should be fasttracked. In an emergency, emergency measures have to be taken.
The Government, once it decides on such a course, should not bow to pressure from a small minority of vocal protesters, as it did in Ballinrobe and Carlow. The Coalition party leaders, specifically in FG and FF, should ensure that all of their respective public representatives are brought into line with Government policies.
Given the various wars on our doorstep, and the worsening climate crisis, the migrant issue will continue to be one of the main issues on our agenda. We cannot continue to deal with this on a day-by-day basis. We must engage in long-term planning for it.
As this is a national crisis, would it be too much to expect party leaders to come together in an allparty approach to handle this emergency? This would help to dampen down some of the discordant voices in our country.
And perhaps President Michael D Higgins could be more vocal in encouraging the Irish people to regain and maintain our Céad Míle Fáilte reputation. An address to the nation from our First Citizen might help!