Hypocritical to lobby for US illegal Irish & not migrants
TDS are hypocritical to lobby for undocumented Irish people in the US and not unregistered migrants here, the Dail has heard.
Fianna Fail’s Niall Collins also accused the State of racism on the issue.
He said: “They may have overstayed their visa but they are here and want to contribute to society, so we have to deal with that reality.
“We campaign for the undocumented Irish in the US and I think we are hypocritical as a nation and as a State for not dealing with it here.”
Labour TD Aodhan O Riordain echoed his comments.
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He said: “We have to call out Irish America about their support for Donald Trump.
“We have to call out Irish communities in Britain who are so anti-immigrant, which is so hypocritical.
“How can we go to the US on St Patrick’s Day and hand over shamrocks and advocate for undocumented Irish in America and not do the same here for the 26,000 undocumented workers here in Ireland? They are vulnerable and poorly paid.”
Fianna Fail TD Jim O’callaghan said such online platforms can aid the spread of racist messages.
He added: “Globalisation and social media can have a very negative impact because it allows for racists to spread out their hate online and get into the minds of young impressionable people.
“Unfortunately, one of the consequences of social media is that people are now compartmentalised into different groups and what algorithms tells them they should read after reading a certain article.”
Justice and Equality Minister Charlie Flanagan said the country needs to face up to the fact racism occurs in Ireland.
He warned: “Racism is insidious and is present to some degree in every society, including here in Ireland.”