Senators and TDs have come out to support an anti-racism pledge published by the Irish Network Against Racism ahead of the local and European elections.
Independent Senators and TDs joined representatives from People Before Profit, the Green Party, the Labour Party, Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil to sign up to the pledge outside Leinster House on Kildare Street.
James Casey, Board Secretary of INAR, said: “It’s about really genuinely saying we’re taking an anti-racist stance. There’s no point in saying we’re non racist, it’s anti-racism.
“We have to put this stuff down. This is Ireland for everyone, this is our Ireland and it’s an Ireland of equity, equality and inclusivity and diversity, and that’s what we want to create”
Senator Eileen Flynn, the first Traveller to serve in the Oireachtas, said: “Unfortunately, hatred and discrimination and racism are getting stronger within Irish society.
“We’ve seen politicians in the past use members of the Traveller community for their own political career and we don’t want that going forward.
“We want a political system at a local level, at a national level and at a European level that will talk with people of minority groups and talk up for us as well.”
Asked about Traveller accommodation being an issue in local politics Senator Flynn said: “Travellers have always been subject to hatred within Irish society and specially when it comes to accommodation if we look at refugee accommodation at the moment, that’s exactly what happened to Travellers.”
Mpho Mokotso, Community Integration Officer with the Dublin South City Partnership, said that many immigrants are not aware that they are entitled to vote.
“It’s very important that migrants, especially people who are arriving in Ireland, have word in the elections, because unfortunately as everyone is well aware, we are the target for everything bad that is happening in Ireland,” she said.
Ms Mokotso said she is very scared about what could happen in the forthcoming elections and she has been a target for racial abuse.
“Every day when I walk I am afraid because I’ve been targeted so many times, I’ve been attacked so many times,” she said.
“My child has woken up in hospital because of being beaten in the street.”
Anybody who is normally resident in the state and who has a PPSN (Personal Public Service Number) can register to vote in the local elections.
Asked if INAR was against politicians bringing up immigration in the election Mr Casey said: “Immigration and racism are two totally different things.
“Immigration is healthy in any society, we immigrated ourselves.
“If you want to keep a society going, whether it’s financially, demographically or economically, you need immigrants, that’s how societies survive.”
He said it is very important to recognise that Ireland has a challenge with racism.
Mr Casey appealed to politicians “not to use language that can inflame, not to resort to populism, populism only goes one way, there’s no solutions in populism”.
