A presidential Campaign for 9 out of 10
21.10.11
Press Release 20/10/11
One in ten people in Ireland are members of the immigrant community, however they have been ignored throughout this election.
Zephyrin Ngaliema, a native of Democratic Republic of Congo, who has recently become an Irish citizen, said “I am concerned over the lack of reference to the 10 per cent of people living here that are foreign born.”
“The presidential candidates do not seem to even acknowledge that one in ten of the people they are meeting are foreign born and whilst they do not have the ability to vote this shouldn’t mean that their needs are completely ignored.”
Killian Forde, CEO of The Integration Centre, said “Not alone are these people disenfranchised but if one were to judge by this election it is almost as if they have disappeared.”
“At every level of politics people need to be included, represented and reflected by policy and practice.”
“The Integration Centre has just produced the Roadmap to Integration 2011. We believe that political participation is a key pillar of integration, and the current system does not reflect the needs of the population.”
“In the Roadmap we have asked for the creation of a partial list system, that ethnic minority quotas are introduced in Executives, and for migrants with Long-term Residence to be able to vote in all elections.”
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Contact: Helena Clarke on 01 645 3092 / 087-9610897; 1st and 2nd Floors, 18 Dame Street Dublin 2, helena.clarke@integrationcentre.ie, www.integrationcentre.ie
The Integration Centre is committed to the integration and inclusion of people from immigrant backgrounds in Ireland. The Centre specialises in planning, monitoring and advocacy at city, local, national and international levels, and it also provides regionalized information, advice and training services. Evidence-based research influences positive change in legislation, policy and practice. We have more than 250 affiliated organisations as part of our network.