Referendum: No campaign Some 30 doctors will call for a No vote in the citizenship referendum at a press conference in Dublin this morning.
The doctors will issue a letter of appeal asking their colleagues to oppose the measure. They say those advocating a Yes vote are relying on "scare mongering".
Doctors who have signed the letter include Dr Jerry Cowley TD and Senator Mary Henry. In it, they say they do not accept that maternity hospitals are being "clogged up" or that mothers are putting their children at risk with late arrivals.
They also indicate that they do not believe that Ireland is being swamped with refugees.
"Ireland is about mid-table in the ratio of refugees accepted by European countries. Europe receives less than a third of global refugees and asylum seekers, poorer African and Asian countries host most refugees," the letter says.
Dr Austin O'Carroll, a general practitioner in Dublin's inner city, told The Irish Times that the idea of a flood of refugees coming in to Ireland is false.
"This referendum is not necessary. There is no flood of refugees coming into Ireland. The figures just don't stand up to it. Our patients are being stigmatised and are suffering as a result of the arguments surrounding the referendum."
Dr O'Carroll also challenged the masters of the Dublin maternity hospitals about the provision of care for non-nationals.
He said the idea that non-nationals were "abusing a loophole" was not true and figures for 2002 indicated that out of the 10,000 refugees who came to Ireland, 65 per cent were male and only 35 per cent were female. These figures were not consistent with the argument that the main reason non-nationals came to Ireland was to abuse the loophole, Dr O'Carroll said.
"If we take a generous guess that 50 per cent of those women were pregnant, then we are talking about 1,700 mothers coming into Ireland to give birth. This is not a large figure."
The letter states: "It is the duty of the Department of Health to provide appropriate models of maternity care for multi-ethnic patients, not to argue for their deportation. We reject the stigmatisation of foreign parents as putting their non-born children's lives at risk, without taking account of the peri-natal mortality [death in the first week of life\] in their own country. [In Nigeria the peri-natal mortality is 77.5 per 1000 births as compared to the Irish rate of 7.5 per 1000.\] These parents may in fact be improving their child's chance of survival.
"Having heard the experiences of torture, rape, abuse and economic deprivation of non-national patients, we strongly believe that they should be welcomed and treated with the respect they truly deserve. We are most concerned that this referendum may provide a platform for those with racist views, and encourage abuse of ethnic minorities."
The letter, which is published in this week's Irish Medical Times is signed by: Dr Austin O'Carroll, General Practitioner, Dublin 7; Dr Jerry Cowley, TD Dáil Éireann; Dr Bill Shannon, Dublin 2; Dr John Latham, Dublin 8; Dr Mary Jennings, General Practitioner, Dublin; Dr Mary Favier, General Practitioner, Cork; Dr Fidelma Savage, General Practitioner, Bray; Dr Patrick Harrold, General Practitioner, Blacklion; Dr Peadar O'Grady, Consultant Child Psychiatrist, Dublin 12; Senator Mary Henry, Seanad; Dr Michael Lim, Dublin 24; Dr Mark Holmes General Practitioner, Dublin; Dr John Tierney, General Practitioner, Dublin, Dr Rashid Ibrahaim, Dublin; Dr Christine Corr, Dublin; Dr Susanna Gaynor, Dublin; Dr Nicky Boyle, Dublin; Dr Daniel Whitford, Dublin 1; Dr Sumi Dune, Dublin; Dr Ronan McLoughlin, Dublin; Dr Nicky Boyle, Dublin; Dr James Slein, Dublin; Dr Juliet Bressan, Dublin 8; Dr Walter Cullen, Dublin; Dr Michael Breen, Wicklow; Dr Shane McCarthy, Dublin 9; Dr Mel Bates, Dublin 3; Dr. Patricia Carmody, Dublin 3; Dr Mary Archer, Dublin; Dr Emer Loughrey, Dublin 8 and Dr Des Crowley, Dublin 7.