We should start taking steps now to prevent immigration becoming a cause of conflict in the future, writes Kate Holmquist

1 Education

Migrants, asylum seekers and refugees need unhindered access to education, which is a basic human right and the best possible way to achieve social integration.

"At present there are too many petty restrictions, as though the Government does not want integration to be successful," says Prof Ronaldo Munck, sociologist at Dublin City University.

Dr Jean-Pierre Eyanga Ekumeloko, director of Integrating Ireland, an umbrella organisation for immigration support groups, agrees. "Under the UN convention, refugees and their dependants have the same right to entitlements as Irish citizens," he says. "Yet a lot of children of refugees are having difficulties accessing third-level education because they are seen as international students and charged tuition fees they cannot afford."

2 Policy

The Government should develop an explicit policy statement on immigration that provides guidance for employers, unions and society in general.

"The Government should lead a balanced and informed public debate about the reasons for migration, and explain how it will manage the costs and benefits of migration," the inter-governmental International Organisation for Migration (IOM) advises.

Ed Cairns, of the University of Ulster, believes we can learn from the experience in Northern Ireland, where getting different groups together to discuss the way forward has been crucial to integration. Methods developed in the North can be used here.

Prof Ferdinand von Prondzynski, president of DCU, believes the Government should be openly engaging with all the issues and providing opportunities for public discussion. The "them and us" mentality needs to be challenged from the top down.

"Many in Ireland have difficulties with difference," says Munck. "Just think of the national minorities, from the rather large Protestant one in the north-east, to the Travellers and the Jewish minorities. In none of these cases does the majority come across as a beacon of understanding and inclusiveness. Today Ireland exists in a rapidly changing interlinked and globalised world where difference is the order of the day. To make migration a positive experience for all, we need to find ways of making difference work for us."

3 Unemployment

The needs of those sections of the labour force that are not getting employment should be addressed. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) wants to see more funding for skills training, an aim that is already Government and EU policy. A quarter of Irish people are poorly educated and need assistance to compete in the workplace.

Last year, 27,000 women returned to the workforce, but they may not have returned to jobs in which they can reach their potential, says Sally Anne Kinahan, Ictu advocacy director. In a knowledge economy, people returning to work must be encouraged to develop their abilities to the full, she adds. This can be facilitated through "lifelong learning", but workers should be allowed paid educational leave so they can learn new skills.

"In an affluent country there should be no underclass," says Munck.

4 Planning

The Government's Planning for Diversity: The National Action Plan Against Racism should be implemented. At present, immigrants are the victims of discrimination, labelling, institutionalised racism, assaults, threatening behaviour and incitement to hatred.

"There must be total zero tolerance towards racism in all it forms," says Munck. "We need an incitement to racial hatred Act. Journalists also have responsibilities and should not play with fire. Anti-racism should not just be about 'political correctness' but about a mindset that values diversity and the benefits it can bring."

5 Action

The Government should lead with actions as well as words. Phillip Watt, director of the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism, says that the Government has, to date, been ambitious in its aspirations, but that it needs to be more proactive. "We're trying to develop the principles and the practice that will bring us to the new Ireland," he says.

The upper echelons of the professions, such as healthcare, should be promoting doctors and nurses from outside the EU to positions of responsibility that reflect their abilities, rather than using them to keep the health service running while only indigenous Irish people are promoted. Many immigrants are working at levels below their skills.

"If there's no progression in the next few years, we will be building up resentment amongst immigrants and giving them the feeling that they are being treated as economic units," Watt warns. "We have built up an image in our minds that Ireland is a magic place people want to come to, but the reality is much more complicated."

We need talented people from outside the EU, but if they are to stay, they must be fully included in society. The subtle "fortress mentality" that pervades Europe is a form of racism that we must work against, he believes.

6 Language

There is an immediate need for a translation service for immigrants dealing with the health service and the courts, says Watt. There is a lack of standards for interpreters and some are better qualified than others. Translating the words of medical professionals, lawyers and judges can literally mean the difference between life and death or between a one-year and a 10-year prison sentence, he adds. DCU has recently introduced graduate certificates in community interpreting to address this need, but Government funding is required.

7 Housing

Housing is one area where there is a major gap between policy and practice. Most local authorities are "way behind" in building social housing and "goodwill is not enough", Watt says. Out of necessity, some immigrants are living in primitive accommodation. Some families are living in institutional environments when they are well capable of living in the private rented sector if given the opportunity, he adds. People who remain in hostels for years can have greater problems adjusting to life in normal communities. It's also a "recipe for disaster" if immigrants of one group are forced to live in one area.

"Housing authorities need to be planning ahead and thinking of ethnic diversity, without doing social engineering," Watt says.

Many immigrants want to buy their own houses and an AIB report last year found that 20 per cent of new accommodation will be purchased by immigrants, which will help to keep the construction industry going.

8 Participation

The participation of cultural and ethnic minorities in politics, policy formation and community activities should be encouraged. Our communities need "intercultural spaces" where people from various backgrounds can mix, Watt says. Indigenous Irish people need spaces where they can get to know the "new Irish" face to face. New areas of housing should have meeting places included in their design from the outset.

Watt again makes the point that many immigrants are here to stay and that we need them to stay for our economic survival.

"Without them, our health service and tourism would be non-existent and our agrifood and IT sectors would not survive," he says.

Communities need to participate in open debate on what social inclusion means.

"As part of this, all of us living on the island of Ireland (and that includes the North, too often left aside in these debates) need to engage constructively and openly around what it means to be an Irish citizen today. The reinventing of Ireland is happening in practice; our analysis and mindsets need to catch up with this process," says Munck.

Under the Agreed Programme for Government, there is a commitment to develop an initiative to manage cultural change. The National Action Plan Against Racism recommends that this should take the shape of an "intercultural forum" which would promote further research, interaction and dialogue on cultural diversity in Ireland.

9 Workplace

New research shows that racism is least prevalent in the workplace, which means employers have a key role in being supportive.

Research in the US shows that racial segregation is at its weakest in the workplace, where people more or less have to cooperate with one another. This is the case even where there is increasing residential segregation.

In Northern Ireland there was a quite successful campaign against discrimination and intimidation in the workplace, which "held the line" even during the worst periods of the Troubles. Many employers are striving hard to achieve good intercultural relations in the workplace. This is a huge contribution to social integration and government should support it fully.

10 Co-ordination

A lack of co-ordination between Government departments in implementing immigration and social inclusion policy has been criticised by many involved in the area. The IOM states, "to promote greater policy coherence, mechanisms should be established to promote greater inter-departmental co-ordination". Consideration should be given to the establishment of an inter-departmental committee or working group on immigration and there should also be a mechanism for fostering policy dialogue between the Government and others involved, such as NGOs, employers and unions, the IOM advises.

Series concludes. Teen Times will return next week