In her column on April 20th Mary Holland accused the Labour Party and myself of not showing leadership on the issue of refugees and asylum-seekers.

Mary is entitled to her view and I welcome the fact that she is addressing this issue in her column. On no other issue has the absence of crusading journalism been more apparent than on this one.

Exactly one year ago, in my first address as party leader to a Labour Party national conference, I stated that our treatment of refugees was a disgrace and that the refusal of the State authorities to allow them to work, reducing them to dependency on State handouts, would fuel further resentment against them.

I presented the issue of immigration as an opportunity, not a problem. "All the evidence shows that immigrants bring vibrancy and energy into existing economic and cultural activity." That is still my position.

I was joined on stage by a young woman by the name of Farduz Sultan-Prnjanovic. Farduz is a Bosnian refugee and an Irish citizen.

During the conference Farduz appealed on live television for tolerance for refugees and asylum-seekers, arguing that they had much to offer Ireland.

The inference that refugees do not want to work, articulated yesterday by Mr Jackie Healy-Rae TD, has historical resonances, too. It was used against the Irish wherever they went abroad. In more recent years it has been used, too, against many of our own people, the long-term unemployed in particular. Recent experience has thankfully nailed that particular lie.

But addressing the issue of longterm unemployment was a difficult one. It took time and effort. It involved the social partners, government and voluntary organisations. Integrating refugees into the workplace and our community will take similar time and effort.

In the Dail our deputy leader, Brendan Howlin, has articulated the case for a coherent immigration policy. No other politician has argued so consistently for a humane and coherent approach. A policy based not just on denuding developing countries of skilled workers but one that recognises our historic obligations as a country that scattered its own emigrants all over the globe.

In Dail debates on the Immigration Bill, a Bill introduced solely to reinstate the Minister's right to deport people, we sought to secure for asylum-seekers the right to work.

In my address to the Dail on the occasion of the millennium, I stated categorically that the Ireland of the 21st century would be multicultural, multiethnic and multifaith.

Labour's call for the "regularisation" of the position of asylum-seekers who are in the country for a protracted period of time preceded that of the Catholic bishops. We nonetheless welcome their call and we condemn its abrupt dismissal by the Minister for Justice, John O'Donoghue. It is a sensible suggestion that would have given a beleaguered Minister the opportunity to start afresh and clear the large backlog of applications.

In response, the Minister is threatening mass deportations. He would do well to reflect on his position. The people he will end up deporting will be those longest in the State and most integrated into the community. Neither should the Minister assume that he will have widespread public support for such a move.

As a recent Irish Times/MRBI poll has indicated the public's views on this issue are complex. They have reacted badly in the past to the forced deportation of asylum-seekers who clearly have roots put down in this country. I don't think their position has changed much. Given the continued growth in the murder rate, I'm sure the Garda has better things to do than organise the expulsion and deportation of settled asylum-seekers.

Racist groups have indicated they intend targeting Labour TDs at the next election because of the stance the party has taken on the issue. Mr O'Donoghue, meanwhile, has wrongly accused us of advocating an open-door policy.

That is not our position and we have rebutted it. A coherent asylum and immigration policy will involve deporting people who have no case to remain here. But in a state that estimates its needs for foreign workers to be large and growing, deportation as a sole policy response to immigrants already in the country is deeply inadequate. I am proud of the stance taken by my party nationally and locally on this issue.

For many people it is a difficult issue with the reality being that this country is looking at the end of a cultural homogeneity hundreds of years old. Their fears and concerns cannot be dismissed.

People like Farduz recognise that and have dedicated themselves to bridging the large gaps between people's fears and realities. So have many local community liaison groups throughout the State.

And this is where the Government's response has been most pitiable. It has made the point, and it is one we accept, that part of our refugee problem is immigration-based.

Why then is the Government incapable of bringing the two together? Even after its recent Cabinet meeting to address this issue, the Minister for Justice and the Tanaiste couldn't bring themselves to hold a joint press conference afterwards.

The sole notable intervention by the Taoiseach to date has been to exaggerate rather than talk down problems.

It is not true to say he has spoken out of both sides of his mouth on this issue. The reality is that he has spoken out of one side of his mouth only. In his interview with The Irish Times the Taoiseach speaks of addressing the issue in his own constituency. But Bertie Ahern is not just a constituency TD. He is the Taoiseach and his efforts can only be judged by that benchmark.

But, as the attempted arson attack in Clogheen and the incident in Parnell Street make clear, time is running out. The Government has promised an awareness campaign. So far we have seen nothing. It is time to expedite initiatives such as these.

The Minister for Justice says he is not responsible for the problem and that its roots lie in the previous administration. It is a strange position for a man in office longer than his two immediate predecessors. He started with a problem but it became a crisis during his tenure and now he has had to declare a national emergency.

But it is an emergency that now affects us all. I fear for our future when I see young children protesting against the location of asylum-seekers in their communities. So, too, should the Taoiseach and the Minister. This is the single biggest challenge facing us as a society today.