POLITICIANS HAVE a duty to show leadership to prevent the development of racism at a time of economic downturn, Independent TD Finian McGrath told a news conference in Leinster House yesterday.
Speaking at the launch of an immigration report by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights, Mr McGrath said legislators had a responsibility to oppose the emergence of racist sentiment.
"We have to show leadership and be brave on the issue because we cannot allow it to develop in any kind of negative way. All TDs and Senators have got to be part of that leadership because there is a section of society that's dormant, it's out there at the moment, and we've got to be very vigilant," Mr McGrath said.
Fine Gael immigration spokesman Denis Naughten said some 400 immigrant children who had become separated from their families and were taken into care by the Health Service Executive (HSE) had since disappeared.
"While a lot of these children are in the age group of 16, 17 years of age, some of them can be as young as 11 years of age that have gone missing and there doesn't seem to be the onus or priority given to actually addressing this.
"The reality is that if these were Irish children that were going missing, there would be a massive public outcry in relation to it.
"I don't think that the legislation as it stands at the moment where the Minister literally passes over his responsibility in relation to these children to the HSE is acceptable."
Labour's justice spokesman Pat Rabbitte said the rise in unemployment would bring its own tensions over the immigration issue. "I would anticipate that some people here as economic migrants will return to country of origin."
