Spring remarks on immigration

Madam, - Well done to Dick Spring, the first politician to admit that the immigration debate is primarily about numbers ( The…

Madam, - Well done to Dick Spring, the first politician to admit that the immigration debate is primarily about numbers ( The Irish Times, February 12th). Enda Kenny's call for "a debate" was almost entirely about integration and avoided the crunch question.

Does a politician have to become a former politician before he can speak the truth? We constantly hear that we must avoid the mistakes that other countries made in regard to immigration, but the main mistake they made was in allowing excessive immigration.

Integration, though a very important issue, is a separate issue. - Yours, etc,

ÁINE NÍ CHONAILL, Immigration Control Platform, Dublin 2.

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Madam, - Dick Spring's comments and Piaras Mac Éinri's letter (February 13th) both argue compellingly for a sustained and deliberate process of integration.

The point that can be missed in this debate is that integration is a two-way process and that immigrants to this country are not solely responsible for participating in Irish society.

The Refugee Information Service (RIS) works with asylum-seekers, refugees and other immigrants on a daily basis. As a result of our work, we feel it is essential that government, non-government and private sector agencies join with immigrant-led organisations, in a co-ordinated way, to ensure that when people do come to Ireland they have access to the full range of opportunities that the broader Irish community enjoys, including education, employment and a family life.

In Ireland, people recognised as refugees under the 1951 Refugee Convention have a statutory right to reunify with their family members. The RIS has found that lengthy delays exist in the system and that this can put family members at risk in their home country, and also cause considerable stress for the person applying for reunification. Other problems our clients encounter include the current multi-agency approach to processing applications and the lack of an independent and transparent appeals mechanism.

We are also concerned about the narrow definition of "family" in Irish legislation. For example, separated child refugees are permitted to bring only their parents to Ireland. If they wish to apply for reunification with their brothers or sisters, then they have to prove that their siblings are dependent on them and this is a very difficult undertaking for a child. Currently non EU-immigrants have no statutory right to family reunification.

The RIS calls on the Government to ensure that concrete provisions for family reunification are prioritised in the new legislation and that the funding and other supports required are provided to ensure their implementation. - Yours, etc,

JOSEPHINE AHERN,  Director, Refugee Information Service, Annamoe Terrace, North Circular  Road, Dublin 7.