Taoiseach calls for 'strategic response' to rising acts of racism and discrimination

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he spoke with business leaders on Wednesday who outlined to him reports of their employees being attacked 'because of their ethnicity. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins Photos

The Government must have a strategic response to the “growing narrative” in the country that seeks to “other” people of different races and creeds, the Taoiseach has said.

Micheál Martin said young people here are worried they may be targeted for attack due to their race. The Taoiseach said the country is at a “very serious crossroads”.

“There is a narrative growing in this country which is trying to other people because of their colour, their race, their creed,” Mr Martin said. “I think the vast, vast majority of Irish people recoil at this, but we have to be better, more strategic in dealing with this and engaging with this because this is undermining the dignity of every child born in this country.”

Mr Martin said he spoke with business leaders on Wednesday who outlined to him reports of their employees being attacked “because of their ethnicity”.

The Taoiseach said he met with young people at the Government’s child poverty and wellbeing conference, who raised similar concerns.

Their parents may have been born abroad, they came to Ireland, the young people would have been born here and they’re afraid to go into town. They’re being attacked. One young man said to me that his sister was chased home the other day from school.

“We always cherish children and irrespective of the background, these attacks should not happen.”

Mr Martin said language such as “Irish for the Irish” is having an impact and causing violence.

“It’s tantamount to an incitement and it needs to stop. Irish society needs to take stock,” Mr Martin said. He added that he met with inter-faith leaders recently and it arose as a topic of discussion.

“This is, to me now, an emerging societal issue for us all. Where do we want Ireland to go? What kind of society do we want?” Mr Martin asked.

“We’ve developed, we’ve progressed. We can’t regress and that means conversations and engaging with people.”

Asked if this meant new laws are required, Mr Martin said it is an issue beyond legislation and requires a “national conversation”.

He said there are “challenges and pressures”, but that space needs to be created to allow for discussion within society.

Many people might be a bit passive about it, they’re afraid of the reaction from someone. They just go about our business but it’s getting serious.

“It’s potentially, for the individuals concerned, very dangerous and they’re afraid.”

Mr Martin said this is happening in other countries as well.

“We need at government level, not just a legislative response, but I think we need a more sophisticated, strategic response,” Mr Martin said.

He criticised moves by some individuals towards an “illiberal and exclusionary concept of nationalism”.

He said this nationalism seeks to “find identity in opposition to others and an obsessive focus on separateness rather than solidarity”.

He described attempts by some groups to “hijack” the Irish tricolour for their own “regressive purposes” by claiming “national identity is a fixed and unmoving idea which can never be allowed to evolve”.

“This is, of course, a crass and sinister misreading of the history of most of what we most value in our past.”

Mr Martin said people must be “far more assertive” in protecting national symbols and patriotism from “the fear and division which so many are trying to promote in these turbulent times”.