Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. The Anti-Racism Campaign Ireland is a country that used to pride itself on its hospitality, but now seems intent on throwing out those who seek refuge here. Our history is of famine and political oppression, and we used to think we'd learned from this history, and so helped other small nations and stood up for human rights. Every year thousands of people used to leave Ireland, in search of a better life elsewhere. But when people come here fleeing famine, they are called spongers.
People escape from torture, and they are called criminals.
People come here looking for work, and they are told it is illegal. We think it is hypocritical and two-faced of politicians, who have presided over huge rates of unemployment, poverty and homelessness, to turn around and blame refugees. We condemn the press who are more interested in racist scare-mongering and sensationalism than offering information and solutions. The facts speak for themselves. In the last three years there have been approximately 5,000 applications for asylum in Ireland - in the mid 80's up to 40,000 Irish people a year went to America to work, most of them illegally.