Irish Born Children Scheme

international | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis

Monday October 22, 2007 18:44

by Anne O'Connor

Ireland granted residency to about 17,000 parents of Irish born Children mostly women and then decided that these category of Irish Citizen Children do not have any entitlement to family unification and so we have a situation where the fathers of these children are being turned away. What we risk creating for our future generation is what I dread because this policy if not reversed will only polarise the community and we will have the "us" and "them" divide.

We need to protect these shores against illegal migrants but a situation were the country has decided that certain category of its vulnerable citizens are not entitled to have both there parents live with them is dangerous and will not help future cohesion.

We all know that the family generally affords the best environment for raising children and any external intervention should be to support and empower families.

We risk alienating these children and we cannot afford to have a situation where these children grow up and respond to alienation and perceived injustice with murderous nihilism.
Boys and girls are hardwired to grow into men and women but they are not hardwired to grow into good family men and women. That is a job for mothers and fathers working together.
This society cannot afford to have these children grow up disillusioned, feeling that in their early years the Country, which they call their own, has denied them the right to have their fathers with them. There is a need to foster in these Kids not only a sense of their own self worth but also awareness that they are valued within the community.
Irelands needs to enhance in these children a positive sense of place in this community or else we shall be courting on these shores disaster on an unprecedented scale.