Ireland cannot provide an effective example of global solidarity on the world stage if we are not doing a good job within our country.
Immigration to Ireland
This has been the defining feature of the past decade in our country.
We should not be afraid of crafting an immigration policy which is structured yet generous. This is simply part of responsible governance.
We shouldn’t just view immigration is a means of meeting the labour needs of our economy. The people who arrive in Ireland are not simply economic units. They are people, often with families of their own.
Currently, immigrants coming to Ireland find themselves using the asylum process as the only available route. Consideration should be given to using our embassies abroad to meet with, advise and approve a certain number of people who wish to make a better life for themselves and their families in our country. This would be a more just solution and would allow future immigrants to prepare properly for life in Ireland.
Our immigration policy cannot be characterized by one side giving and one side taking. There is also a responsibility on these who come to Ireland to adapt to life in Ireland and to respect our core cultural values. We must continue to resource community projects which foster integration.
We must, at all costs, avoid the creation of ghettoes in which foreign nationals end up having no contact with the local Irish community.
Asylum
Our asylum policy must be structured but fair. It is worrying that quite a number of appealed cases are subsequently accepted. What does this say about the first round of processing?
We must also ensure that our asylum centres respect people’s dignity. There are problems of overcrowding, hygiene, diet and nutritional issues. Many complain of boredom with nothing to do all day. Surely we can do a better job by offering education and opportunities to people, many of whom are highly skilled and educated. At the very least we should offer people a chance to learn English while their applications are processed.
Overseas Aid
I fully support our national commitment to donate 0.7% of our GNP to Overseas Aid by the year 2012. However, we also have the right to expect that aid is used efficiently and ethically and that it reaches those for whom it is intended. We also have the right to expect that those who channel aid are doing so in a cost-effective manner. Corrupt governments in developing world countries are a huge obstacle to real improvements to the effective spending of our aid budget. We must donate within a structure that is accountable and transparent.
I have seen first hand the excellent work being done by Irish aid workers and missionaries overseas. During a visit to the Cheshire Homes for elderly and abandoned people in Oberà, Argentina, I saw how Irish money goes a lot further abroad than it ever does at home. A small amount of money can transform the lives of other people in the developing world.
We must continue to foster the culture of generosity and solidarity that has long characterised our country’s response to poverty and disadvantage abroad.
In particular, there should be funding and structural support for the practice of twinning Irish towns, communities and schools with equivalent places in the developing world.
Further funding should be available to Irish second and third-level students to travel to developing countries on summer internship-type experiences. Schools should be practically encouraged to organise such programmes as part of Transition Year activities or at other appropriate times.
Responding to climate change
Ireland should take the lead in responding to the challenges posed by global warming. I will support:
- practical policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions, e.g. higher building standards to ensure maximum energy efficiency in all new builds.
- practical assistance for developing countries in coping with climate change.
Ireland will be expected to lower its emissions of greenhouse gases over the coming decades, and this raises a huge number of issues for us. At about 17 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per annum, our per capita emissions are in the top ten globally and way above the EU average of 10 tonnes.
We need to up the use of renewables (Ireland has the best wind-resource in the EU and huge tidal and wave potential), we need to ease planning and grid connection for renewables and micro-renewables (domestic solar panels and micro turbines, for example). We need to raise building standards to ensure maximum energy efficiency in all new-builds. The mandatory inclusion of solar water-heating in all new houses, increased investment in public transport and the re-structuring of vehicle tax and VRT to incentivise the purchase of low emission vehicles, are all part of the solution.
Regardless of our efforts to control our emissions, we need to prepare for the impact of climate change. A coordinated cross -Government approach is required. Particular vulnerabilities will include increased flooding and tidal inundation, drought and water stress (particularly in the East) and coastal erosion through sea level rise.
Current planning needs to take future vulnerabilities into account. Issues such as migration control and our vulnerability to global shocks in the world's economy will need to be addressed as climate change is likely to lead to more frequent climatic catastrophies, mass population shifts, resource conflicts, water wars etc.
The world’s poorest countries and populations will need increased assistance in dealing with climate change as they are most vulnerable and least resilient to adverse effects.