If the criterion for Irish citizenship was to be the colour of people's skin, or the manner of their religious worship, there could be little hope for the success of the Belfast Agreement, the ICTU president, Ms Inez McCormack, told delegates. She said the current week was a vital one for the implementation of the agreement, and there was an obligation on all parties to reflect the democratic mandate. Winning or losing was not the priority of the people who voted for the agreement, but the creation of a new future.
Turning to the issue of racism, she identified it as crucially linked to the achievement of a long-term settlement in the North. Ms McCormack asked how some Irish people could forget their own legacy of emigration so fast.
"This is the time for the Irish trade union movement to be the leading force in this society," she said. Racism was not acceptable, nor was any denial of rights to human beings who come to our shores. The trade union movement supported the right to work of asylum-seekers, she added.
It was tempting to allow ourselves to be preoccupied with our own problems, she said, but the refugee and asylum-seeker issue was an important test of Irish citizenship for the future.
"If our only measure of Irish citizenship is the colour of our skin or the manner of religious worship, can you tell me how the Good Friday agreement is going to be implemented on this island?" she asked.
It was only a few years, Ms McCormack said, since she had spoken at meetings on the east coast of the US, pleading for the right of young Irish "illegals" to stay, "not because they were fleeing persecution, but for the right to work".