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Varadkar: 'Racism too is a virus... We don't need to look across the Atlantic to find racism'

The Taoiseach today spoke at length about racism at home and abroad in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.

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TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said we’ve witnessed “the absence of moral leadership or words of understanding, comfort or healing from whence they should have come” in the United States in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent protests over the past week. 

He said the world had watched “in horror” at the events in the US in recent days, and said that “racism too is a virus… [that is] never easy to cure”. 

In a speech in the Dáil, the Taoiseach said we “don’t have to look across the Atlantic [Ocean] to find racism”, and said we have “many examples in our own country”. 

He said that the country had come together in the fight against Covid-19, and said that same sense of community would be needed to take on racism in this country to change the experiences of young people of colour in Ireland “for the better”. 

George Floyd killing

The killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, by police in Minneapolis has caused an outpouring of anger and protests around the world. 

There have been scenes of looting and violence in some parts of the US in the wake of the killing, and US President Donald Trump was widely criticised for tweeting that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” last week.

He has since claimed he will send the army in to quell protests, and his former Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said last night he was trying to “divide” America

In Ireland, a Black Lives Matter protest was attended by thousands in Dublin on Monday, and a further protest is planned this weekend

Speaking in the Dáil today, the Taoiseach said there’d been a “palpable outpouring of emotion” since Floyd’s killing.

He said: “We’ve also seen genuine revulsion of the heavy handed response [in the US] in some instances, towards peaceful protesters and journalists. And we’ve witnessed the absence of moral leadership, or words of understanding comfort or healing from whence they should have come.

It is right to be angered by injustice. Racism too is a virus, transmitted at an early age, perpetuated by prejudice, sustained by systems. Often not recognised by those it infects. Possible to counteract and correct for, but never easy to cure.

Irish experiences

The Taoiseach then turned to his own experiences, and those of others, in Ireland and said that racism is not unique to the United States.

“The Ireland I grew up is a very different place to the one that we live in today,” he said. “In recent decades we’ve been enriched by racial diversity, people of colour who came here, and more were born here.”

He said we’re “fortunate” to have a policing model based on consent, with strict gun control and a highly professional police force in An Garda Síochána we can be “proud of”. 

“However, we don’t need to look across the Atlantic to find racism,” Varadkar said. “We have many examples in our own country. Discrimination on the basis of skin colour is pernicious. Sometimes it’s overt discrimination when it comes to getting a job or promotion or being treated less favourably by public authorities, including sometimes government officials.

Sometimes it manifests itself in the form of hate speech online, bullying in school, name calling in the streets, or even acts of violence. Sometimes it’s almost innocent and unknowing, and all the more insidious. Little things, small but nonetheless othering.
Being asked where do you come from originally, because your skin or surname looks out of place. How often you go back to the country that your mother or father was born in? Being spoken to more slowly. Cultural and character assumptions made based on your appearance. Being made to feel just that little bit less Irish than everyone else.

Varadkar said that “sadly this is lived experience for many young people of colour growing up in Ireland today”. 

He said a strong sense of community had helped the country during the Covid-19 crisis, and this would be needed to help take on racism and change the experiences of young people of colour in Ireland for the better. 

“We can learn from the mistakes of other countries,” he said. “And make sure that we do not follow their path or be subject to their fate.”

‘We too need to do our bit’

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald agreed with the Taoiseach that racism was a global problem, and said “we too need to do our bit”. 

In the Dáil, she said anyone within the Irish system that decries racism but fails to “dismantle the disgraceful, discredit system of Direct Provision is no good at all”. 

McDonald said such talk was also not acceptable when “open, blatant discrimination” is still present against the Travelling community. 

“We have the diagnosis, now we need the treatment,” she said. “The ball is in our court. What do we do? That’s what the death of George Floyd asks of us.”

On the issue of Direct Provision, Varadkar said he accepts that some accommodation is “substandard” but it was “ultimately a service provided by the State”. 

He also said that Direct Provision is “not the same thing” as a man being killed by police, as in the case of George Floyd. 

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108 Comments
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    Mute 8-Bit-Relic
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    Jun 5th 2020, 8:49 AM

    Gosh, close them and restart them once they are done… they were responsible for 153 of the cases last week. If that’s one of the main things preventing us from reopening get it done.

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    Mute Aidan O' Neill
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    Jun 5th 2020, 8:54 AM

    Absolute cop out answer by Harris also. He should be getting briefed on the situation and informing the House.

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    Mute frank_1916
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    Jun 5th 2020, 8:51 AM

    whoever owns the meat plants should know who’s working there and also where they live

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    Mute Aidan O' Neill
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    Jun 5th 2020, 8:53 AM

    @frank_1916: meat industry has a lot of Government connections, no sign of inspections or shut down. We’ve been averaging what 50ish a day for the last two weeks? So 100 per week in meat factories means about 2 out of every 7 cases is from one now. With lack of contact tracing this is clearly a significant factor for why the numbers aren’t lower.

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    Mute Eugene Comaskey
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    Jun 5th 2020, 9:38 AM

    @frank_1916: Meath Factory Owners are just that , they are not “keepers” , they cannot follow the workers home and see what they do and where they go . Isn’t the problem with the HSE and Dept of Ag, who have Dept Vets in there. Just like the Nursing Homes, HSE not really doing their job.

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    Mute John Mulligan
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    Jun 5th 2020, 10:04 AM

    @frank_1916: anecdotally, the problem isn’t in the meat plants per se, it’s not possible for employers to police behaviour once people clock off and go home. It appears that correct precautions are in place in the plants, but the employers have no power outside of the workplace to ensure social distancing etc.

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    Mute Cormac
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    Jun 5th 2020, 11:36 AM

    @Eugene Comaskey: the vets are responsible for checking the animals for diseases. They have no responsibility towards the factory employees. It is either the HSA or the HSE that should be taking charge

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    Mute Sharp Elsi Mate
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    Jun 5th 2020, 9:48 AM

    The vast majority of these workers come from a particular community (in our local plants anyway) so contact tracing you would think would be a bit easier. I also think they have a mindset of even if I am bit under the weather I am going to work anyway.

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    Mute Mary Walshe
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    Jun 5th 2020, 1:22 PM

    @Sharp Elsi Mate:
    Probably because they cannot afford not to go to work, I’d say!

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    Mute Sharp Elsi Mate
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    Jun 5th 2020, 2:24 PM

    @Mary Walshe: Yes sadly most likely but is the system not supposed to allow you to get the PUP if you cannot go to work?

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    Mute Isabel Oliveira
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    Jun 5th 2020, 9:34 AM

    All workers contacts ( colleagues and families ) should be traced . Simply no excuse. 70%?is not good enough.

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    Mute George
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    Jun 5th 2020, 10:03 AM

    Big issue is Harris & HSE not using these sites to perfect their tracing procedures. We will have clusters and they will need immediate action. Country cannot shut down again

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    Mute Michael Mcloughlin
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    Jun 5th 2020, 11:04 AM

    Close them like they have the schools and shops and dont reopen them until all the workers comply with the testing .
    I know in the Midlands some of the partners of the people working in the meat Factorys are working in Nursing homes and working as care assistants so it needs to be sorted

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    Mute DK
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    Jun 5th 2020, 9:09 AM

    27 hospitalised out of 1,048 cases is less than 2.6 percent. I think this gives a good rough guide on serious cases rate for adults in 18 – 50 age range. Also no mention of any deaths but they haven’t said there hasn’t been any either so can’t assume that’s the case.

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    Mute Sean Reddin
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    Jun 5th 2020, 10:34 AM

    People / workers are secondary once there is money to be made even in a pandemic unfortunately.

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    Mute Vladimir Macro
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    Jun 5th 2020, 12:02 PM

    1800 peolpe now trained to work in contact monitoring.

    What are they doing?

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    Mute MickN
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    Jun 5th 2020, 12:23 PM

    Has anyone asked who gave the ok for the planeloads of Brazilians than flew in during the lockdown to go straight to work in the meat factories…?
    No….?
    Didn’t think so…

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    Mute Dolores English
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    Jun 5th 2020, 1:56 PM

    Shut the meat factories down, engage with the employees and help them instead of talking about these workers as if they didn’t matter

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