Sir, – As an Irish inter-racial family with two black African children we wish to thank those people who promptly challenged the comments of the former Mayor of Naas as being racist and discriminatory. We acknowledge that he did the right thing by stepping down from the role of political leader of his community, however some of the support his comments have engendered will contribute to further racism and prejudice against black people in Ireland.
His resignation will hopefully help people recognise that racism is dangerous and unacceptable in our country. The message of the former national public awareness campaign to Know Racism remains apt. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Much public attention has focused, quite rightly, on exacting an apology from Councillor Darren Scully for his recent racist statement. We wish to highlight that an appropriate response from Fine Gael’s national executive is of equal importance.
Research which we conducted on behalf of Doras Luimní in 2010, found that statements on immigration by politicians without a party brief are prevalent in both national and particularly local debates. Where parties fail to publicly and effectively censure anti-immigrant statements they essentially give them credence.
Fine Gael must firmly disassociate itself from the comments of Cllr Scully, through sanction, preferably expulsion. Moreover, they should provide a clear statement of the alternative position which the party supports. Political elites and political parties have a significant impact on the way in which migrants are explained to the public.
In addition to ensuring that they do not serve as apologists for Cllr Scully, Fine Gael must avoid being ensnared in a reactive approach to immigration whereby the course of debate is set by the problematisation of the issue. – Yours, etc,