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THE GOVERNMENT HAS been urged to take action after a survey of TDs revealed that most had encountered racism among their constituents.
The study from the Integration Centre, whose initial findings were released in December, showed that six in ten TDs had experienced racism while on the campaign trail for last year’s General Election.
It also revealed that 36 per cent of deputies believe speaking up in favour of immigrant rights would negatively affect their support.
TDs were briefed today on the survey’s findings. Labour deputy Aodhan Ó Ríordáin, who helped facilitate the briefing, said it showed issues which need to be urgently addressed.
He said the survey paints “a very startling picture of public representatives attitudes toward immigration and integration,” adding: “It is my belief that the Government must lead the charge now in overcoming these problems.”
Ó Ríordáin suggested that racist motivation could be made an aggravating factor in criminal sentencing.
Killian Forde, CEO of the Integration Centre, said the figures show “societal problems and flaws in the system.” He said a junior minister should be given responsibility for integration issues, and a national integration plan drawn up.
The survey also showed that a majority of TDs feel the skills of immigrants are under-utilised in Ireland, and that migrants from other countries have an important role to play in our economic recovery.
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I’m an immigrant myself, but I wouldn’t be worry too much. People have problem with anyone these days. polish, germans, english, french, black, white, politicians, bankers, priests, women breast-feeding, unemployed, employed, rich, poor, people who are on strike, people who don’t… literally anyone.
bottom line is people are not happy, and they naturally search for someone to put the blame on…
Absolutely, you hit the nail on the head there.
Yes this issue is right to be raised along with all the other terrible matters being inflected on ALL the people of Ireland.Austerity effects everybody and mr o riordain would do well to raise these issues with Gilmore Howlin Rabbite and speak out against the pain being inflected on all sections of our community not just the racism issue.
This is a worrying revelation.
One that did not emerge during the tiger years.
But now that things have changed It conjures the term apartheid.
Engage cheap labour when it is needed, when it suits, but dispose of them when the are superflous to requirement.
‘*engage* cheap labour’ ???
No one dragged anyone to Ireland to work …
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin. You’re the only back bencher worth their salt remaining in our government. It takes courage to bring the racism debate out in the open.
You’re bound to get a fair bit of abuse from the usual suspects claiming that you can’t say anything because you’re part of this awful government. But getting this issue talked about urgently is still a welcome move.
I think anyone awake in Ireland over the past few years would know that this is going to be contentious. I’m really sick of hearing people claiming that immigrants are the cause of all ills in our society. Let’s not forget the words of our national anthem, “Buíon dár slua thar toinn a ráinig chugainn”. A lot of our best have come from across the seas and have contributed hugely.
Most Irish racism is stemmed in fear of lack. What they should aim for is lack of fear! A lot more of this coming down the road but all it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to stay silent… and all that. Talk louder.
Not surprised really. Alot of deep seated resentment here of foreigners. If you cant see open your eyes. Government did cause alot of it. And as for senator jimmy harte maybe that is what he was doing, playing up to the racists to gain more support.
Well done Aodhan, a worthy and necessary initiative. Perhaps start by sending a letter to the Independent expressing your horror at Greg Harkin and Norma Cosgrave’s article about Magda the Polish waitress published today.
Racism is such a stupid negative way of thinking but in many ways this has been bubbling under for years & come back to bite the government because nothing has ever been done to address people’s fears.
In my experience Racism is based on (unfounded) fear . the fear may be based on ignorance or mistrust which may be unrealistic , the fear however is very real
Nothing has ever been done to address this , many people then see this as an injustice as they wrongly believe that any discussion on racism or immigration will brand them racist.
Isn’t it time for some kind of national discussion .
Racism is just a means of identifying a group that is not traditional your own like being sectarian, gender biased or having a preferred type of government. People run on essentially four things: needs, identity, belonging and status. Racism ticks two of those and was used to support the other two. A little gene therapy to ensure that we all only see shades of grey, like Stephen Colbert, is the easy way out.
Hmmm, the Huffington Post reports a study that links low I.Q. To racism (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/27/intelligence-study-links-prejudice_n_1237796.html?ref=science).
Draw your own conclusions….
They didn’t need a study to draw that conclusion.
Racism requires a perpetually irrational disposition.It requires an individual to surrender their God given gift for reason.
Only a lazy minded individual will apply the standard of the dregs in a race or nationality across the board.
The problem with immigration into Ireland is that we don’t know who is coming into the country. Let’s take a leaf out of Canada, the US and Australia’s books.
The nation has voted on many an EU treaty to ensure that there is little or no internal immigration checks. And the tiger bloomed from that.
DubInaas.
Just let me refresh your mind: during the celtic tiger years Ireland asked expats from all over the world to return to their native country to contribute to a flourishing economy.
This however would not have sufficed to sustain many years of economic splendour.
Hence our need for foreign labour particularly in the construction industry.
Nobody forced these labourers, but they were a crucial cog in our economic development.
Jimmy Harte is just one . Anybody ever listen to Prenderville on 96fm here in Cork ,loves to stir things up between foreign taxi drivers and locals ,does his ratings and pocket a power of good .
Is that same Penderville who was caught shall we say engaged in odd behaviour on an airplane?
haven’t done for a few years thankfully. A nasty obnoxous excuse for a broadcaster. Wouldn’t want to be near him on a flight either! :)
Yet another teacher TD trying to get publicity.
Racism can be an expression of fear and fear arises out of a need to feel secure. When the need for security is not met then naturally racism among other things will rise. This is the nature of a recession thus the “they’re taking our jobs and living off the state” attitude to foreign residents. Integration is not the answer, a secure society is.
Integration is the answer. You can’t have anyone live on the outskirts of a community, neglected only by ignorance and fear of the unknown. Full integration with all members of a society or community brings everyone closer together. The fear and ignorance then dissipates, leaving a happier and healthier community.
There is a story doing the rounds about a Polish girl who is apparently “milking” the welfare system. Why her nationality is of concern here I don’t know. If she is milking the system, and she was Irish, would it make it difference to the issue of welfare abuse?
The sh!t has hit the fan over that article. It was a completely inaccurate translation. There were two threads on it today on Journal.
There are Irish scroungers milking the system for years, even drawing payments of people who are years dead. If there were less people going around thinking that they are somehow owed a living as well as all the trappings the country wouldn’t be in the state it is in today and the genuine people like sick, old, and those unable to work could be properly looked after. Why is it that an entire estate of houses which were built in the late 70′s have to be completely demolished and rebuilt while private houses in the same area built same time and before are in perfect order? Answer is that quite a few tenants who are given housing don’t bother to do even the least bit of maintenance themselves. This is something that the government should clamp down on, it is costing the country millions.
The survey should have found out if they read the Irish Independent or the Daily Mail too!
I’d say it’s more anti-immigration than racism. It just coincidence that most non-eu immigrants are a different race. I wouldn’t be surprised if TDs didn’t know the difference.
A cynic would see this as a publicity stunt after Aodhan’s last press foray. He is now out of the Labour whip, looking to build support where ever he can. Aodhan does not quite realise that employed people have far less time to be actively racist, get cracking on that Aodhan
A nice ambition, but forcing people to change their mind usually means they will hold on to longer. Didn’t Cromwell try this here in the past? People’s minds’ change when they arrive at a rational conclusion for themselves and when credible evidence is presented in context.
Sentencing on type of intent rather than initial intent or committing a crime will mean that you are punishing people for holding a belief.
If anything can be learned from the last 12 years, punishing people for their beliefs does not change their beliefs and only aids the weapons and surveillance industries. And Ireland is not a player in those fields.
Perhaps Aodhan should focus on national democratic and philosophical education for adults. Though some might see this as having too many people thinking for themselves and saying things that others don’t like.
Overall his position just sounds too close to a form of thought control. “Remember you can have any opinion you want, just as along as it is the right one” ;|
Aodhán hasn’t lost the Labour whip.
And perhaps you ought to send your thoughts to him, rather than posting them here where he’ll probably never see them. He could probably put you right on a number of assumptions you’ve made about his knowledge of racial tensions.
Just had a read of the survey, apparently it was conducted between 22nd June and 12th July 2012.
Crystal ball or time machine?
How can a public servant, who is elected to represent their entire constituency…. Fear to represent their whole constituency? How sad!
Racism, or any other prejudice for that matter, is one of the many signs of an illogical mind. Of a person who has been taught what to think rather than how to think. You can tell by the nonsense they spew to rationalise their position. Had these people been properly educated, they would have been able to have spotted the inherent logical fallacies in the propaganda they base their ill founded ideals upon.
If you learn by rote then all you learn is to trust whatever apparently official sources say, no matter how much nonsense they may be spewing. And that’s where the agenda being pushed via the mainstream media comes into play. The fact that many outlets are failing in their duty to uphold journalistic integrity and instead are merely spewing their divide and conquer filth has its place in that blame too.
Fascism raising its ugly head, remember the “blueshirts” 1930`s I think, racism comes from ignorance, integration is an important way of combating it, Ireland needs role models from within the immigrant community,
in such fields as sport, culture, and politics
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