TD urges planned strategy on immigrant issues

A Fine Gael TD has warned of the dangers of "ugly" racist confrontations in inner-city areas unless the Government develops a balanced strategy to deal with immigration.

Mr Gay Mitchell says that as a first step the Taoiseach should appoint a minister to take overall responsibility for co-ordinating the response to the problem.

A refugee commissioner should also be appointed, as provided for in the Refugee Act. This Act, which was passed by the Dail 18 months ago, had yet to be fully implemented. The gardai, local authorities, immigration authorities, health boards and immigrants themselves should be involved in drawing up a response, Mr Mitchell suggested.

Ireland's new-found wealth was attracting immigrant workers, illegal immigrants and political refugees, he added. "Yet, despite this influx, this country has not yet developed strategies to deal with a wide variety of immigration issues in a planned and sensitive way."

Up to now, the handling of the issues had been "extremely ad-hoc and unplanned". In the absence of a strategy, concentrations of immigrants and refugees in some areas of Dublin were causing "unhealthy and unwelcome" intercommunity tensions.

"We have not yet learned the lessons of other European centres of population where concentrations of foreign nationals, when allowed to build up without planning, have reached crisis point in terms of racial conflict.

"In some communities in Dublin, concern about a significant influx of immigrants is finding expression in angry protest by residents. The danger is that if the Government doesn't take the situation in hand, with a constructive and balanced strategy, ugly confrontations of a racist nature will take root in these communities."

The aim, he said, should be to promote understanding of new immigrant cultures among host communities as well as co-ordinating housing and social services.

"Doing nothing is not an option. To leave immigrant families to the mercy of ad-hoc residential settlement on the one hand and host communities unprepared to deal with the situation on the other is grossly unfair to both."