Good riddance to McDowell - now get rid of his policies

national | racism & migration related issues | press release Thursday June 07, 2007 17:49 by Residents Against Racism residentsagainstracism at eircom dot net c/o 12A Brunswick Place, Dublin 2 087 66620260 or 087 7974622

The end of Michael McDowell’s five-year reign in the Department of Justice is great news for everyone who wants an Ireland free from racism. His period as justice minister was marked by a cruel determination to attack the rights of people from other countries. He presided over a rotten system that routinely refused 92 per cent of people looking for asylum. His deportation mania led him to break up families and send snatch squads into schools. He took away the citizenship of children born and reared in Ireland, promoting racist prejudice in the process.

But McDowell didn’t have it all his own way. On many occasions popular protest forced him to back down from his tough guy image. People that he fully intended to deport won the right to stay, thanks to campaigning by friends, neighbours and anti-racist activists. Kunle Eluhanlo, a student deported to Nigeria in his school uniform, was brought back following a campaign led by his classmates. Even though McDowell surrounded it with conditions and limitations, he eventually had to allow the parents of Irish children the right to stay here.

The new minister will find it extremely hard to be as bad as his predecessor. But pressure will be needed to make sure that McDowell’s policies are thrown out along with him.

End deportations.
Those seeking asylum in Ireland include people fleeing from war and persecution, along with people trying to escape poverty like thousands of Irish people have done in the past. Instead of wasting money on trying to deport them, Ireland should welcome them here to live in safety. It is pure hypocrisy for the Irish government to support Irish people living illegally in the US but do the exact opposite in Ireland.

Let asylum seekers work.
Although people are often left hanging for years waiting for the right to stay, they are legally banned from working, and forced to survive on only €19.10 a week. People who are ready, willing and able to work are prevented. They should be allowed to work with the same rights and conditions as everyone else.

Take the asylum system away from politicians.
Asylum applications are decided by officials who are hired and fired by the Minister for Justice. Whether they keep their job depends on how satisfied the minister is with their decisions. Decisions should be made free from political interference, and based on human rights protection. The system should be taken out of the hands of politicians altogether, and given over to an independent body, like the Human Rights Commission

Protest - Dáil, 2.30 pm, Thursday 14th June