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Good morning Ministers, Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Councillors, Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for your warm welcome. I am very pleased to be here today in the impressive surroundings of the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham and would like to thank the Council of Europe Intercultural Cities and Dublin City Council for inviting me and for giving me the opportunity to address you all this morning.

I am delighted that this event is taking place in Dublin during the Irish EU Presidency and that it is in collaboration with the Council of Europe under the Andorran chairmanship.

Managing increased immigration and the diversity that it brings is a relatively new experience for Ireland. In learning how to do so effectively, we have looked to other countries to see how they managed. That is why conferences such as this one and mechanisms such as ‘the Intercultural Cities Initiative’ are so important in providing a forum for sharing experiences and providing opportunities to learn from each other.

The pace of immigration to Ireland since the late 1990s has been almost unique in a European context. There have been unprecedented changes in the demography of the State.

According to the most recent Census, which was carried out in 2011, about 12% of our population of over four and half million people are now recorded as being of non-Irish nationality. The number of non-Irish nationals residing in Ireland increased by 143% in 9 years. It is interesting to note that EU nationals account for 71% of the non-Irish nationals followed by Asian nationals at 12% and African nationals at 8%. Polish nationals (122,585) are now the largest non-Irish group living in the State and have overtaken UK nationals (112,259) as such.

The Census figures also show that about 30% of non-Irish nationals are located in Dublin, our capital city, with the remaining 70% located throughout the country in the various cities, towns and rural areas.

Another interesting fact is that many of the immigrants that have come to Ireland are very well educated with nearly 31% having a degree or higher qualification.

I think it is fair to say that the unprecedented changes in the demography of the State has presented us with both challenges and opportunities in responding to increased diversity, across many areas of society, over a relatively short period of time.

Of course, while Government must take the lead in integration policy and resource allocation, it must be acknowledged that we all have responsibilities in this area - the State; local authorities; community groups; trade unions; employer organisations; non-Governmental Organisations and of course migrants themselves. We must work together, in partnership, to develop strategies for the common benefit of a changing Irish society.

I am pleased to say, that for the most part, Ireland has proved to be a warm and welcoming home to a large number of EU and non-EU residents. Thus far, we have avoided the extreme racial tensions that have emerged elsewhere in Europe and we do not have any anti-migrant political party. However, we are aware that we must remain vigilant in this regard.

The system of public administration in Ireland is adapting to meet the needs of our new arrivals. A number of key Departments have developed specific strategies to ensure that their services respond to Ireland’s changed demographic in a competent and inclusive manner. The strategies developed have included:

- An Intercultural Health Strategy

- An Intercultural Education Strategy

- A Cultural and Arts Policy

- A Garda Síochána (National Police) Diversity Strategy and

- An Action Strategy for Integrated Workplaces.

At a macro level, the Government’s integration policy focuses on a number of key principles which include:

In Ireland, we have adopted a policy of mainstream service provision in the integration area while, at the same time, recognising the need for targeted initiatives to meet specific short-term needs.

My Department, through the Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration, has a cross-Departmental mandate to develop, lead and co-ordinate integration policy across other Government Departments, agencies and services.

I believe that, for integration to be truly effective, there must be a ground-up approach which takes place at a local level. Integration policies and practices must be pursued in the community, in the home, in the workplace and in the schools.

The importance of Local Authorities in facilitating integration cannot be overestimated. Local government has a more immediate effect on the day to day lives of the people than many other sectors of public administration and they are best placed to know and respond to particular issues in their communities.

For this reason, my Department has provided funding to numerous local authorities around the country to develop integration plans, strategies and initiatives to promote integration.

The Integration Office within Dublin City Council has been to the forefront in promoting integration in the Dublin City region and I am very pleased that my Department has been in a position to support Dublin City Council in its many projects, including its "One City One People" campaign against racism and discrimination.

Dublin City Council also holds Cultural events to celebrate other nationalities, for example, Dublin Chinese New Year Festival, Experience Japan, Africa Day and Diwali. These welcome events combine arts, cultural, social and economic strands encouraging co-operation and integration across and between different ethnic communities and add wonderful colour and vibrancy to the city.

It is of the utmost importance that migrants, community organisations, local service providers, the local police force and local authorities all work together to create an inclusive society and to dismantle any possible cultural, language or institutional barriers which may hinder migrants from participating fully in their local community and availing of services.

To encourage engagement and communication within the local areas, my Department has supported the establishment of Intercultural forums in a number of local authority regions. These forums generally involve local migrants from diverse backgrounds meeting with local service providers and the Gardaí (Police) to discuss emerging issues, gaps in services, information provision or incidents of racism in their local area.

It has been reported that many immigrants who came to Ireland during the boom years are now returning to their country of origin or to other countries in search of work. That may be true to some extent. However, it is also true that a substantial number wish to remain here as they now consider Ireland their home. It is vital, therefore, that the foundations are laid for the creation of an inclusive society that is respectful of diversity.

In 2012, My Department provided funding of around €1.2 million to various organisations including local authorities, sporting bodies and Non-Governmental Organisations to promote integration and tolerance. This is on a similar scale to 2011.

I would like to share with you another example of an excellent community initiative also supported by my Department. Fáilte Isteach - which means ‘welcome in’ in the Irish language is a community project with older volunteers welcoming migrants through conversational English classes in over 50 centres across Ireland. It began in 2006 with 6 students. Now, every week, over 540 volunteers teach over 1,600 students from over 63 countries, collectively offering over a thousand hours of tuition each week. This project is instrumental in breaking down barriers between migrants and communities whilst at the same time imparting a valuable skill. Although a voluntary organisation, Fáilte Isteach is professional in the delivery of its programme. It provides a very important service to newcomers by utilising the talents of our older citizens, which can often be overlooked. People who volunteer want to continue to contribute positively to Irish life and the project is their way of doing so in a way that benefits both the tutor and the student.

As I mentioned earlier, many of the migrants who came to Ireland in the last 15 years or so now call Ireland home. Not all of these people, however, will choose to become Irish citizens but many will desire to do so.

As Minister for Justice & Equality, it is my legal obligation and duty to decide who should be awarded citizenship. In 2011, on my arrival into office, I set about the task of addressing the length of time taken to process applications for naturalisation and to significantly reduce the number of cases on hand. At that time, there was a backlog of 22,000 applications and applications were taking an average time of over two years to process. Many were waiting three to four years. In my view, this was not acceptable. In June 2011, I announced a number of measures to address this issue, application forms were improved and accelerated procedures were put in train for certain types of application. Since I came into office, I have made decisions on almost 38,000 applications, including over 23,000 last year. I am pleased that the measures I put in train to deal with the backlog have been a success.

On 24^th of June 2011, the first Citizenship Ceremony ever held in this State took place in the Dublin Castle Convention Centre. On that occasion, the State welcomed 73 new citizens. This was the first in a series of ceremonies to publicly and visibly welcome our new citizens. During the most recent public ceremony last December, almost 3,500 people were awarded citizenship. The initiative to hold such ceremonies provides an opportunity to publicly celebrate and welcome our new citizens.

To assist those wishing to become Irish citizens, my Department has provided funding to support a Citizenship Application Service (CASS) whose aim is to provide free support and information to those immigrants who wish to apply for naturalisation.

There are many new challenges facing us during this economic downturn. One of the greatest challenges will be to maximise our available resources to achieve the best and most efficient outcomes for all members of society. To ensure a sustainable future for Ireland, we need to establish the foundations for a more equal, socially progressive society which is comfortable with diversity. This can only be achieved by ensuring that equality and social justice principles continue to be taken into account in the planning and in the formulation of policy in all sectors. It is something which will require long-term planning, but will benefit society financially and socially by helping to create more cohesive communities where people are afforded the opportunity to reach their full potential.

The Irish Government will continue to promote policies that integrate minority ethnic groups in Ireland and that promote social inclusion, equality, diversity and the participation of immigrants in the economic, social, political and cultural life of their communities.

I see from your programme that you have a very interesting and busy few days ahead of you. However, I hope that you will be able to take some time out to enjoy the sights and the hospitality which our city has to offer. I would like to take this opportunity to commend Dublin City Council and, in particular Gerry Folan, Declan Hayden and their team in the Dublin City Council Integration Office for their work in the integration area.

I am sure there will be very informative and lively debate over the next few days and I wish you well in your deliberations.

Thank you

ENDS