We all have a duty to combat racism together because in our midst it is a stain on our whole society. The issue of whether we allow racism and racist behaviour to propagate in our society is about our commitment to the fundamentals of our democracy. It is for us all. We live in a liberal democracy; but it needs regular maintenance.
We must continue to promote the basic values of that democracy and the rule of law. Some among us who passionately believe in liberal democracy often paint efforts by governments to combat racism and prejudice as efforts in thought control, a violation of the liberal principle of free speech itself.
I don't agree.
The National Anti-Racism Awareness Programme launched last week is not about the promotion of political correctness, nor is combating racism a fashionable effort by well-meaning people. It is simply about safeguarding and vindicating the basic democratic values that make individual freedom possible.
Racism is a dry rot for democracy: you think you can live with the odour, with the initial slight degradation of structural supports, with its hidden spread beyond the obvious, until it's far too late. That was its power, as shown too often in the 20th century, from Nazi Germany to Kampuchea \, Bosnia and Rwanda. We must combat racist behaviour very early on. There is no such thing as a tolerable and safe level of racism.
And let's face facts: there is already racism and racist behaviour in our society. The awareness programme is not an immunisation shot against a potential danger, but an antibiotic against an infection already present. We have to make sure that that reason and reasoned policies will win the day. Political parties have a special responsibility as we head into an election period.
Yes, we have to answer the legitimate concerns of the public, but we must do it in a way which doesn't put the security of votes above the personal security or the rights of foreign nationals who are living here, nor above the need for a shared commitment to address issues of concern to both the Travelling and settled communities.
In terms of our overall economic development, a lot of our current success can be traced back to policies of free education and openness to international trade and investment which once were resisted in favour of protectionism.
Nowadays, we need to confront a new type of protectionism in social values and attitudes by raising awareness about the values of diversity and the relevance it has to our core national interests as an economy and as a liberal democratic society.
Is there no greater lesson in this than the welcome developments in Northern Ireland? We have devoted enormous efforts on all fronts to deal with old divisions on the island and to build up trust within communities. It has been John Hume's life's work. We must not confine the rich and fruitful insights about healing divisions and building an inclusive society to addressing the cumulative problems of four centuries of Irish life.
We need to apply the same approach to other diversities in Irish life, old and new, including the Travelling community, refugees to whom we give shelter from oppression, newly arriving working immigrants and asylum- seekers. There is no doubt that if we are to develop our open economy further, we will need to demonstrate even more that we can work well together in diverse workplaces with peoples of many backgrounds.
I have been struck by the great enrichment we are experiencing by the diversity of people coming to work with us in our successful economy. The world is coming to Ireland, not the other way round. No longer do we just engage with the world of international work somewhere out there, beyond our shores, when we leave on aircraft.
The international workplace, with all of the diversity it holds, offers high-value employment and is increasingly becoming the Irish workplace. We must embrace that diversity if we are to engage fully in this area. Across all sectors, but especially in lower value-added areas, we have to be vigilant to stamp out any exploitation of migrant workers living among us.
We will show no tolerance for the denial of labour rights to migrant workers. I commend the work of IBEC and ICTU to combat racism in the workplace and I would like to add my support to November's Anti-Racist Workplace Week.
In our lifetimes, not many of us are going to be asked to defend freedom or human rights beyond our shores. It's far more likely that we will be called to stand up for equality in our factories, in our offices or in our neighbourhoods.
Let's hope that people will see the issues at stake and take a stand.
Mary Harney TD, leader of the Progressive Democrats, is Tβnaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment