I move:
That Seanad Éireann condemns the Government's lack of movement on the promised racial awareness programme.
I am happy to propose this motion. Although we may have strong disagreements, I am pleased to welcome the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy O'Donoghue, to the House.
As regards Private Members' Business, will the Government organise matters more efficiently so there is a roster? Such a system would give Members, including Government Senators, time to select relevant issues and to brief themselves and their supporters. It is unsatisfactory that Members are given notice at the last minute of the opportunity to raise matters. I was informed last Thursday that I would have an opportunity to raise this matter because Senator Henry was unable to be in the House tonight. Luckily I was able to select a subject which struck a chord, namely, the issue of racism and the Government's responsibility in this regard. I am not criticising Members or the staff of the House, but I am suggesting that there should be a roster at least one month in advance.
Amnesty International has launched a campaign which has caused some controversy. The campaign poster has caused some offence as it shows pictures of the Minister, the Taoiseach and, I think, the Tánaiste and includes words to the effect that, "Some people say these people are involved in racism, others say they could not care less", or something like that. Offence was taken at the use of the word "involved". This is a clever poster as it attracts attention and ruffles a few feathers. However, the poster has a double meaning. It suggests that political leaders have said they are committed to combating racism, yet the performance on the ground has been, by and large, thin. I have no doubt that is the case.
In launching this campaign, Amnesty International stated that it was up to those who raised these issues in the past to show their consistency by continuing to raise them. That is sufficient justification. I have repeatedly raised this issue in the House, and nowhere is an awareness campaign more necessary than in this House. I will not name anyone, but in the ante-chamber one of my colleagues asked me if I had been to the pub in Parnell Street which is run by black people who do not allow white people in. Only one pub in Parnell Street is run by black people and I know it well. That pub is run a lot better now than when it was run in the interests of the absentee landlord who lived in Manchester and when every down and out dope pusher in Dublin was allowed in.
This pub is now owned by a Nigerian businessman and is open to everyone. The pub offers appetisers. I had a glass of wine in the pub a few days ago and I was delighted by the truly multicultural atmosphere and the welcome I received. If an informed Member of the Oireachtas can, by hearsay, be given such an impression, what chance is there for the rest of the population in the absence of a committed programme of education?
We in the South are shamed by virtue of the fact that the Minister for Education in Northern Ireland, Martin McGuinness MLA, has just launched his programme. It is not often that I get the opportunity to praise a member of Sinn Féin and someone who has been honest enough to acknowledge that he is a former gunman. However, I do so, and more power to him. He is living up to what was suggested.
This motion will result in a vote as it condemns the Government. No Government can just sit there and agree with being condemned. However, I wished to see what the motion would draw out of the woodwork. The motion comprises one and a half lines, yet it drew an amendment running to about one and a half pages. This is interesting as it suggests that I struck a nerve.
The amendment deletes all the words after "Seanad Éireann", endorses the Government, recognises that Ireland is an increasingly multicultural society and so on. It also applauds the Government and welcomes the national anti-racism public awareness campaign. The Minister is nodding. How can the Government welcome something about which it knows nothing? How could the Government know anything about this campaign as it does not exist. It has only been formally acknowledged – it is a dead letter.
I am asking that the Government live up to its promises and reveal what the Minister has done in light of the announcement in October 2000 of a propaganda campaign to combat racism. The Minister was widely and justly praised at the time for this initiative which was seen as something significant to which the Government would live up. There was a kind of contract with the people. However, that contract has not been delivered on. I am looking for, in legal terms, specific performance in terms of this contract. I would be very happy if the Minister could satisfy the House that he has performed specifically.
The matter is made more urgent by the daily spate of attacks, and later on I will put some of these on the record. I am sure the Minister is familiar with them and I know he deplores them as much as anybody else in the House. These have happened in our cities to people perceived to be different. If intelligent people believe the kind of hogwash that I have just mentioned about a pub in Parnell Street, many other resentments spring up – that people are getting freebies here and there, that they are being housed in luxury accommodation and that they are being given cigarettes, etc. Jealousy sets in very rapidly.
The Northern Ireland Minister for Education, Mr. McGuinness, has lived up to the promise of doing something in the absence of anything being done here. In January 2001, we finally ratified the UN convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. We were the 157th country to do so. That is not a position on the league table of which we can be particularly proud, but at least we did it. This has consequences. It means that the activity of the Irish Government will now be supervised by a UN committee, with formal reports required every two years. Our first report is due early next year. It will be a great pity if we have not implemented the promised programme.
Mary Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the following in Strasbourg in October 2000:
Politicians should lead by example. This is an issue which calls for a strong stance and a transparent approach. Some leaders have had the courage to speak out clearly and show solidarity with victims of racially-motivated attacks. We need more of that – and not only after outrages are committed. We need to hear our political leaders championing diversity, extolling the virtues of multicultural, multi-ethnic societies, defending the vulnerable.
Apart from the clear example of the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy O'Donnell, how many of our senior politicians, especially on the Government side, can claim they have acted in the manner described by the former President, Mary Robinson? There have been one or two shameful examples of Members of the other House using inflammatory language in an attempt to gain votes. Only rarely were they strongly condemned by their senior colleagues.
Questions must be asked of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. I would be very grateful if he or his advisers could provide answers. Is there, many months after the announcement was made, a campaign package ready to combat racism? If so, what is the proposed launch date of the campaign? We know about Northern Ireland, but have no knowledge of the campaign date here. What is the precise focus of the national awareness campaign? Exactly how much of the allocated budget of £4.5 million has been spent to date? What are the campaign materials being produced – posters, leaflets, television or radio broadcasts? What is the timeframe of their production? Have briefs been issued to designers and tenders invited for any printed materials? These are the practical matters that the Minister will know about if there really is a campaign in existence.
I listened to the splendid advertisements on the radio by Amnesty International, and I congratulate the organisation for them. They consisted of Dublin-sounding voices talking about living in Dublin or Ireland, being proud to be black, but ashamed of Irish society. That was interesting as they do not feel that they have been made part of our community in the way they would like to be. It is shameful to think that a voluntary, non-governmental organisation like Amnesty International has led the field in the area, despite the commitment of the Government. I know of no radio advertising in the Government's campaign. Perhaps the Minister will tell the House that there is, but I have not heard it. The one by Amnesty International, which I have heard, serves as a reproach to the Government.
With regard to the steering committee to which the Minister frequently refers, how many times has it met? How long were the meetings? How many members attended – all or just a few? What decisions did they make on the national awareness campaign, the review of the existing prohibition of incitement to hatred legislation and proposals for new legislation to fill gaps?
Racially motivated crime stands out. It is always bad when there is an assault, but it is significantly worse if it is racially motivated. We do not seem to have legislation to cover this satisfactorily. What resources are at the disposal of the committee? How many delegated staff does it have and what are their precise duties? Are minutes of the meetings kept and are they available to this House, or are we going to find ourselves in a situation like Marian Finucane when she asked about protocol and was told that she was entitled to the information but that it would not be given to her? She would have to use the Freedom of Information Act, which would take her months. I suppose we could do that, but it would not be necessary if there were co-operation and goodwill. Perhaps the Minister will be able to prove me wrong, but I believe that there have been only two meetings of the committee, that nothing of significance has been achieved and that members are becoming disillusioned. Consequently, I call on the Government to take strong action.
We must address the issue of racial awareness, and we have a legal obligation to do so. We have recently ratified the UN convention and have until 2003 to implement the EU anti-racism directive. Under this directive, we will have to broaden the scope of our equality legislation. The Minister congratulates himself in the amendment of the equality legislation, apparently ignoring the fact that, under our EU obligations, we will have to broaden its scope. Certain exemptions the State has allowed itself will have to be dropped and sanctions for discrimination will have to be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
On the subject of dissuading people by law, one will say that one cannot legislate for morality. I have said so myself. One cannot change people's hearts immediately by legislation, but let me put on the record the words of Martin Luther King, who addressed this topic:
. . . while it may be true that morality cannot be legislated, behavior can be regulated. It may be true that the law cannot change the heart but it can restrain the heartless. It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me but it can keep him from lynching me and I think that is pretty important, also.
While the law may not change the hearts of men, it does change the habits of men if vigorously enforced, and we certainly need it in light of the attacks that have been perpetrated and the experience of some of those in this country who happen to be of a different colour or ethnic origin. I think particularly of the young man, Christian Richardson, who was employed here in a high-tech industry. He was very successful and enjoyed himself socially. His parents came to Ireland to visit and while walking along Pearse Street, they was attacked and his father was very nearly killed as a result. They managed to survive. Later, the young man, who courageously decided to stay in Ireland, was badly beaten in Fairview in a racially motivated attack. That is a reproach to all of us. I know I have been critical of the Minister, but I will be happy if he is able to answer the questions I raised.
