The success or failure of a diverse Ireland depends on establishing a “common set of values in society”, Tanaiste and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said in his address to the conference. “I think there are some nettles to be grasped here and I think we all need the courage to deal with them,” he said. “The successful use of diversity is very much contingent on identifying and establishing a common set of values in society.”
He emphasised that rights and responsibilities go hand-inhand, adding: “We have the right to be different in just about any aspect of our lives in which we choose to express that difference. Such differences may be expressed in terms of religion, sexual orientation, affiliations, community groupings, and political interests - any aspect of daily living.
But these rights actually derive from a responsibility to act within a common space which reflects the general tenets of the liberal democracy which I have described.
“While the precise agenda for such common space needs to be debated and agreed, they must surely include essential items: obedience to our national laws; freedom from discrimination of any sort, including gender; and inclusion in the democratic process. The rights of women, for example, are part of the common space, and can’t be opted out of.”
In relation to the development of integration policies by Government, he said: “Changes to our immigration laws are changes to the integration landscape. Policies on citizenship, family reunification, determination of legal status linked to rights of access to services, all are factors in building successful integration policies...
“The functions of the new integration unit are being developed with significant preparatory work being carried out by the Reception and Integration Agency – itself a member of the INIS family.
The agency has already rolled out the special 5m euro integration fund which I introduced last year. It is further involved in encouraging and facilitating crosscutting projects which will have a major leverage effect in the integration area. These projects cover English language training, information provision to immigrants and interpretation and translation facilities...
“All of this builds on the very firm integration bedrock already established by the National Action Plan Against Racism, particularly in those areas which focus on the integration of legally resident immigrants.”
