FF’s lowest tactic yet: spreading fear and confusion on immigration

SO. This referendum on citizenship. Its only purpose is to bring us into line with every other European country, right?

And that's because Europe wants a common set of rules about citizenship, okay? And in the process, we're going to do away with an abuse that has hundreds of people claiming Irish citizenship who have no connection with the country apart from an accident of birth, isn't that it? And we need to do that because the maternity hospitals are being over-run by all these non-nationals, and the senior staff of the hospitals have pleaded with the Government to change the law? And the whole issue has nothing to do with immigration, right? There's no racist intent behind it, and no possibility of a racist outcome, isn't that clear?

No. No. No. No. No. They're the answers to all those questions.

There is no common set of rules in Europe. No one has ever suggested there should be. If there is abuse at any level of our existing system, no attempt has been made to establish the extent of it. And this referendum will allow an entirely new abuse to be created. Our maternity hospital are not being over-run, and its staff have never asked for the law to be changed. And as for racist intent, the truth is that this referendum will go ahead assuming the Government forces it through the Dáil for one reason and one reason only: To enable Fianna Fáil candidates in the local elections to say that they're doing something about immigration, and that no one else is. The things that will be said on the doorsteps will play to people's fear about a complex and sensitive issue, and an all-out effort will be made to make this issue seem more pressing and important than all the other issues people will raise.

Here's an extract from a leaflet already going the rounds of one of the Dublin constituencies. (I won't name the Fianna Fáil candidate for now, in case she has genuinely misunderstood the issues involved.)

But if the following is what they are prepared to put in print, I'll leave it to your own imagination to guess what will be whispered on the doors...

"CONCERN continues to be expressed about the number of asylum seekers and refugees entering this country as a result of our economic prosperity and this issue represents a challenge for us all.

"Asylum applications must be processed in compliance with international obligations. I believe that Fianna Fáil has a comprehensive understanding of the issues and that it is taking measures both legislative and administrative to deal with this matter efficiently.

"I reject the 'open door' policy which is advocated by the parties of the left and accept that all states need effective laws to deal with entry, residence and departure of non-nationals in the interests of the well being of society.

"I warmly welcome the Minister for Justice's recent announcement of the Government's intention to hold a referendum on the right to citizenship for all persons born on the Island of Ireland and the right of residence for their parents."

THE referendum referred to in the FF literature I quote above has nothing to do with rights of residence of parents.

There is no party in Ireland, left or otherwise, advocating an open-door policy on immigration. But you see how easily they link the issue of citizenship and the issue of immigration. You see how easy it is to brand anyone who is against the change regarding citizenship as being in favour of opening the flood gates of immigration.

But still they deny there is any racist intent behind this referendum.

The Minister for Justice gets violently angry if anyone suggests there is. Yet still, on Today FM's Sunday Supplement, he was unable to provide any figures at all for the number of late-pregnancy arrivals in Ireland.

He gave global figures for the number of babies born in Ireland to parents who are non-national, but was unable to say how many of those parents are living and working in Ireland in perfectly ordinary circumstances. And in the middle of all his other figures, he managed to drop in the assertion that 787 babies were born in Irish hospitals last year to Nigerian parents. He offered no figures as to the number of American, Canadian, French, Australian, or British babies born in Ireland last year only Nigerian (or black, if you want to use another term).

He provided no figures for the number of Nigerian parents living and working here perfectly legally. And he gets huffy when people suggest there is inherent racism, and certainly political cynicism, behind this proposal.

WHAT are we really concerned about where immigration is concerned? Are we really terrified of being overrun by people with different skin colour, different languages and religions, different habits and culture? Are we really convinced, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that they get rights we don't?

Last year, our population increased by around 62,000. Net immigration (the difference between the number of people arriving and the number of people leaving) contributed less than half that, with the balance being made up by new-born babies (Irish ones!). The total number of immigrants people arriving in Ireland was just around 50,000.

But guess what? 17,500 of them were Irish people coming home. 7,000 were from Britain, 7,000 were from the rest of the EU and nearly 2,000 were from the US.

The rest was made up of New Zealanders, Australians, Canadians, and a scattering of people from most countries of the world. Some were here as students, many as health workers, some as managers. Some are seeking asylum.

Altogether, the Central Statistics Office estimates that around 4,000 people emigrated to Ireland from countries in central and eastern Europe, and about 3,500 from countries in Africa. About half of all our immigrants last year were under the age of 24. On the basis of our existing law without making any change whatever only a tiny proportion of all these immigrants (apart from the returning Irish) will ever qualify for citizenship unless they pass all the naturalisation tests we already have in place.

At the risk of boring you to death with figures, let me give you one final one.

We are talking about 7,500 people coming to Ireland last year, out of a total population of 3,980,000. You can work out the percentages for yourself.

And they are running shops, garages, restaurants, working in our hospitals as everything from doctors and nurses to nightwatchmen.

A few, no doubt, are up to no good but there are a few (let's say) Irish citizens about whom we could say the same thing. In short, there's nothing to worry about here. Sure, immigration can cause problems and difficulties for various public services. Over time, we adapt to that as we adapt to everything else. And sure, we need to keep an eye on it, so things don't get too stretched.

But do we need to change our Constitution, to send a coded signal to the rest of the world that a country that has been saved in the past by emigration is going to be harsher than anyone else on immigration?