Sir, - I would like to applaud the Government's action in allowing some Kosovars to seek refugee in Ireland. Rightly, they have been given an unqualified permit to seek employment while they are in exile here. However, this gesture does beg the question of there being a form of institutionalised racism against other refugees who have chosen to come to Ireland. These people are not permitted to work during the considerable time it takes for their visa applications to be processed. They are forced to exist on Social Welfare only, which can have the effect of raising local hostility and racist comments.
The refugees themselves would gladly welcome the opportunity to work, pay taxes and generally contribute to the community, instead of existing in a state of bureaucratic limbo. Indeed most of these refugees have many of the language skills that FAS says we need to fuel the Celtic tiger economy and cannot be found in Ireland. Have they actually looked at the under-used resources of the refugees here in Ireland at this very moment?
Wouldn't it be a terrible irony if, in a few years time, a series of probing documentaries should expose a widespread spirit of collusion in the horrifyingly racist treatment of refugees in 1990s Ireland? - Yours, etc.,
Bernadette Scully, Custom House Harbour, Dublin 1.