Election candidates are failing to reach out to migrants and address issues of integration in an increasingly diverse state, an umbrella body for migrants has said.
The Migrants for Ireland coalition has made an election plea for politicians to recognise the role both migrants and new Irish citizens play in the State. It has called on candidates to ensure equality for migrants in the Irish labour market, education system and in access to housing. It specifically calls on the next government to tackle the concentration of migrant pupils in certain schools.
"We are working in Ireland and building the economy," said Neltah Chadamoyo from Africa Centre, one of the groups involved in the coalition of new Irish citizens.
“We have an interest in the growth and development of the country. Our lives are here and we’re not going anywhere.” She says most candidates have avoided talking about the issue since the escalation of the Syrian crisis.
While immigration has never been a priority at election time, "things are different now because of the numbers we have of the new electorate," says Pablo Rojas Coppari, a policy officer at Migrant Rights Centre Ireland who is originally from Paraguay.
"Some political parties have included a number of positive recommendations in terms of migrant rights, but we're still waiting to see the main parties like Fine Gael and Labour be more outspoken on the rights of migrants," he says.
He warns that politicians risk losing the engagement of future Irish generations if they fail to address the issues raised by new citizens . “I see how hard it is for migrants and new citizens to be engaged in politics because there’s no incentive for them, there’s no representation. This doesn’t happen naturally. There needs to be an effort from ministers and political parties. Otherwise they could create a generation of political apathy.”
Direct impact
Mr Rojas Coppari became an Irish citizen three years ago and after eight years working in the State is glad he can finally have a direct impact through his vote. “ It’s important to be able to vote and influence politics in a place I call home. It feels good to finally have a direct impact on decision-making.”
More than 93,500 people have been granted Irish citizenship since 2011, according to the latest statistics from the Department of Justice, some 80 per cent of these are adults. These new citizens were born in 178 countries including Nigeria, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Romania, Poland, China and Ukraine.
The current voter registration system is deterring new Irish voters from adding their names to the register, according to Fianna Fáil councillor for Fingal, Jack Chambers who represents two of Dublin's most ethnically diverse areas, Blanchardstown and Tyrrelstown.
He says voter registration must be made straightforward for new citizens.
“If there was a process whereby at the citizenship ceremony people could automatically register to vote it could be a much smoother process of registration.
“A lot of people who have become citizens only have a local vote. If people have a local vote it should automatically become a national vote.”
Mr Chambers says the use of a rolling register that is updated monthly rather than annually could also make it easier.
Migrants not eligible to vote in this election include Ellie Kisyombe from Malawi has lived in a direct provision centre for 6½ years.
She says candidates must address the backlog of people awaiting asylum in centres where they are denied “basic opportunities which can be detrimental to a person’s mental health”.
“For them [candidates] it’s not an issue,” said Ms Kisyombe. “It makes me feel like I’m a nobody. They make me feel like I don’t count to Irish society.
“It’s very upsetting not having a vote,” she added.
“It’s traumatising knowing I’m someone whose rights are limited. I feel angry that I can’t speak through my vote.”
