The debate on refugees and asylum-seekers raises important questions about the type of society we wish to see develop in Ireland, in particular our attitude to cultural diversity.
A recent review of refugee policy across the member-states of the European Union concluded that policies towards the integration of refugees and asylum-seekers were largely determined by the policies of the state towards cultural diversity.
In other words, if a member-state promotes policies based on the premise that cultural diversity is a potential source of weakness and conflict, then policy towards refugees and asylum-seekers will be similarly fashioned.
If the state seeks to promote cultural diversity, with diversity considered a potential strength rather than a weakness, then policies towards minority ethnic groups, including refugees and asylum-seekers, are likely to be positive and inclusive.
The concept of interculturalism has evolved over time and is now replacing earlier approaches of assimilation and multi culturalism.
The assimilationist approach viewed ethnic diversity as divisive and conflictual and tended to assume that minority groups were deficient, deprived and lacking in cultural capital. The assimilationist approach promoted the absorption of minorities into the dominant culture in the belief that the socialisation of all into a shared value system was the only way forward. The aim of this approach was to make minority ethnic groups as invisible as possible.
The multicultural approach marked an important progression and acknowledged the need to recognise and celebrate different cultures and to give economic and social support for their integration into society.
However, multiculturalism has been criticised as continuing to advocate that it was up to minorities to change and adapt in order to succeed, without any significant acknowledgement that racism exists and needs to be challenged through public policy.
The emphasis of the multicultural approach is on the need for "toleration" and "better community relations" rather than acknowledging the need to change the negative attitudes and practices of the majority population.
So what has been the policy of successive Irish governments towards cultural diversity? The obvious example is policy in relation to the Traveller community. From the 1960s to the 1980s policy was one of assimilation. In particular, schools and local authorities were given the task of assimilating Travellers.
A key strategy was to get Travellers into school to learn to be settled. In practice this involved the development of special schools or special classes for Travellers within mainstream schools. However, the outcome was the provision of a separate and inferior form of education that made little impact on the levels of literacy or progression to second-level education.
In the area of accommodation, policies were based on the forced assimilation of Travellers into local authority housing and "sharing the Traveller population out" among electoral wards when planning halting sites.
However, since the mid-1990s we have seen a number of key policy developments which point to a greater recognition that cultural diversity exists in Ireland and measures are beginning to be put in place to address issues such as racism and to promote a more intercultural society. New legislation and institutions are being introduced to protect and promote the rights of minority ethnic groups.
However, we are still a long way from building an intercultural society. The development of an intercultural approach implies the development of policy that promotes interaction, understanding and integration among and between different cultures and ethnic groups on the assumption that ethnic diversity can enrich society, without glossing over issues such as racism.
Interculturalism is widely advocated by the European Commission in its policy statements and through specific programmes. Intercultural approaches are increasingly applied to policy areas in Ireland.
However, while there has been significant progress at both European and national levels in the development of the concept of interculturalism, this progress has tended to be somewhat piecemeal and ad-hoc. The Treaty of Amsterdam, through Article 13 and forthcoming directives, will give the EU competence to act against racism.
However, simply acting to address discrimination is not on its own sufficient to address the needs of minority ethnic groups. Previously discredited policies of dispersal, segregation and making the needs of minority ethnic groups as invisible as possible should not now be advocated by the Government to promote the integration of asylum-seekers.
Future Government policy towards minority ethnic groups needs to be more clearly informed by a framework of cultural rights, in particular seeing the right to be different as an integral part of the right to belong.
Ronnie Fay is director of Pavee Point