merrion street

You have come to our country and have chosen to live among us. Some of you

have been waiting a long time for this day to arrive. Today, we welcome you

to our nation as its newest citizens and we hope that you will continue to

contribute to our communities, to our neighbourhood and to our society. As

a people we have been enriched by your presence and, in making you citizens

of our ancient and proud land, we are acknowledging the contribution you

have already made.

The history of this State is now your history and the narrative of your

life is now part of our history. For those of you granted citizenship

today your future is now interwoven with the future of this State, its

citizens across the globe and, in particular, all of us who live on this

island. For those of you granted citizenship today you are becoming

citizens of a republic, a constitutional democracy which recognises the

personal rights of each of you as individuals and which greatly values

inclusiveness, tolerance and diversity.

No doubt some of you will be aware of recent reports in the media on the

topic of racism in Ireland. I condemn, in the strongest possible terms,

racism in whatever form it takes. Attitudes based on hatred and ignorance

have no place in our society. I do not underestimate the effect racism has

on individuals and understand that an incident that may appear relatively

minor to one person may have a deep and abiding effect on the person

against whom it is perpetrated.

During our EU Presidency I raised the issue of the apparent increase in

hate crime and intolerance across the Union with my EU Ministerial

colleagues. We agreed to ask the European Commission to launch a debate on

the need for a mechanism or initiative to better support protection of

fundamental rights and the Rule of Law in Member States to ensure that we

live up to all the values set out in the European treaties, including

democracy, the Rule of Law and the protection of the fundamental rights of

all, including the right to live free from discrimination and harassment.

I did this because failure to live up to the values of the EU in one part

of Europe is something that affects all of us.

So far in Ireland, we have avoided the extreme problems of racism and

conflict within societies that we have seen in other parts of Europe.

There are mechanisms in place to deal with racist crime and if you are

subject to abuse you should come forward to our police force – An Garda

Síochána - and seek their assistance and protection.

The Garda Racial, Intercultural and Diversity Office places great emphasis

on the importance of reporting any suspected racist crime to the local

Gardaí. It works with a network of Ethnic Liaison Officers at local level

and gives advice on the services available to victims of hate crime. My

Department’s Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration also

undertakes important work to promote positive attitudes in our society and

positive integration, as well as providing information.

But we should not be complacent. Ireland has proved to be a warm new home

for so many people from so many different parts of the world, but our

society is not perfect and we should never assume it is. I think we

should start a reflection - a national dialogue - in Ireland about what we

need to do to ensure the evils of racism, prejudice and intolerance do not

spread and detrimentally affect the lives of those who live in this

Republic. We must remain an inclusive society and ensure that migrants to

our State, our new Irish citizens, and their children and grandchildren

never feel alienated or excluded from mainstream society.

It is my hope that few of you here with us today have experienced racist

abuse or have ever felt discriminated against but I know some have been

victims of such behaviour. It is behaviour that we should never tolerate

or regard as acceptable.

As new Irish citizens, your personal knowledge and experience would be of

great value to us as we consider what further action we could take to

address this very important issue. I am inviting you to think about the

challenges we face and to write to me with your views and suggestions.