I assure the Ceann Comhairle that he will have our full support for the work he is taking on in respect of what he announced at the beginning of business today.

Yesterday, 39 people were found dead in the back of a lorry in England. My thoughts are with their families and the emergency response services who had to deal with this terrible tragedy. A tweet today read, "One of those people was the last to die and watched 38 die before them". This is an unimaginable horror. We have our own tragic history in this country in that regard. The owners of coffin ships exploited Irish immigrants by cramming them into holds and under decks. Today, shipping containers and lorries are the coffin ships of the 21st century. It highlights the human tragedy of displacement and conflict. These coffin containers are what many people fleeing persecution and war have to resort to in order to get to safety. Tackling the criminal gangs behind them, who are people trafficking, must be prioritised and they must be put out of business across Europe.

Unfortunately, some people in this country peddle far right ideology and may be happy that 39 fewer immigrants will be coming to Ireland. The hatred that these people disseminate, mainly through the Internet, is regrettably taking root in some places in our society and that is what I want to talk about today. The language the far right uses and the tone of speech that it normalises has taken root among people who would otherwise be decent and reasonable. That is where the greatest danger lies. It has become acceptable for some people to talk about asylum seekers being dumped in a town. The word "dumped" insinuates something is of no value. We only dump rubbish. Legitimate concerns that people and communities have about education or health services being stretched are being twisted into reasons to be intolerant. All of us elected to public office have a duty to stand firm against this and we must educate and convince people of the dangers of that indirect prejudice and what it produces.

This issue goes beyond immigrants and minorities. It is also an issue of class because in many places around the country where there are proposals to build emergency accommodation or social housing, there are objections from communities which are excited by hysteria that they do not want those sort of people around them. That is the challenge for the Tánaiste, the Government and all parties. The Government's limited policies on social housing to provide for the underprivileged is always heralded in this Chamber, but on the ground it is the secretaries and chairs of Fine Gael branches, and even Fine Gael councillors, who lead the protests to block such housing. I have personal experience of senior members of Fine Gael, including a local councillor, whipping up hysteria, demonising people and standing as a bulwark against reason and civil discourse in favour of domination and superiority.

Fearmongering discussion about being overrun has become common and acceptable language. I even hear radio journalists speaking in those terms. We have a job of work to do in our society. We have to stand for equality and justice every day, on the hard days and the easy days. I want the Tánaiste to assure me that he is prepared to stand against prejudice and that the Government is prepared to stand against this sort of thing creeping into our society.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. On behalf of the Government, I would like to say that the tragedy which unfolded yesterday, in which 39 Chinese people, 31 men and eight women, including one teenager, died, was a reminder of how ruthless and shocking people trafficking is. This is not something which is comparable to trying to bring refugees from countries like Libya across the Mediterranean Sea. This is an issue which comes right into our own lives. The investigation under way in the UK involves An Garda Síochána, and I can assure the House that the investigation by the Essex police will have the absolute and full co-operation of the Garda.

It is also important to say that we have a national action plan to prevent and combat human trafficking in Ireland. It is comprehensive and An Garda Síochána has committed significant resources to investigating and prosecuting cases of human trafficking.

A specialised Garda unit, the human trafficking investigation and coordination unit, has been established and is very much part of that human trafficking strategy. I want to give that reassurance.

Second, I want to comment on the approach towards asylum seeker accommodation in Ireland. I commend the Deputy for what he said today, which needs to be said by more Members in this House. We have a legal obligation to protect and look after asylum applicants as we assess their applications. In my view we also have a moral obligation to ensure that they are looked after in terms of food, shelter and supports, be they medical or otherwise. We have done a reasonably good job in this country of ensuring they can integrate into broader society. It is not perfect. Direct provision is far from perfect but we are trying to improve it all the time. An increasing number of people want to come to Ireland and are coming to Ireland and claiming asylum here. This Government is looking for new accommodation for that increased number. Currently, about 1,400 asylum seekers are in hotels and bed and breakfasts because we do not have sufficient accommodation to look after them properly and we need to address that honestly across the country. This is what is happening in a number of locations.

However, there is a need to answer questions fully. When communities have concerns that are legitimate, they have a right to ask the hard questions and to have answers to those questions. Today, the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, is attending a meeting with local community representatives, councillors and some Deputies regarding the Ballinamore case referred to by the Deputy. I recognise the Deputy's role in trying to bring a context to the discussion in terms of reassuring local communities that the integration of some asylum-seeking families into their communities can be managed appropriately in a way that does not threaten anyone in the community. That is what we need to continue to do across the country when there are legitimate concerns among communities.

I understand that and I do not want to make this about the situation in Ballinamore or anywhere else, but the Tánaiste did not address my main point, which was that using direction provision centres to accommodate asylum seekers is the policy of this Government yet around the country, people from other political parties and other community organisations are saying that we must be reasonable. People from the Tánaiste's party and other parties are demonising us for doing that. We have this situation everywhere. We need to recognise that Fortress Europe is not working and that we must have a legal pathway to deal with the situation. More than anything else, we have to take responsibility. It is outrageous that hate speech is becoming normalised and is being allowed to become normalised. It is becoming normalised. It is becoming acceptable for that to happen. Those of us who are victims of it and who get the text messages and all these threats will not stand down. We will stand firm but we need to know that the people who are putting those policies in place will also stand firm. This is the question the Tánaiste did not answer today. The people and I need to hear that from him.

This Government is looking to ensure we have appropriate accommodation and invest accordingly to ensure we can look after asylum seekers properly when they come to Ireland until their asylum applications have been processed and decisions have been made. This is why the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, will attend a meeting today to answer questions and reassure people about practical things like GP services, education and health support services for vulnerable families that may have been through significant trauma in recent months that results in them being here as asylum seekers in the first place. I appeal to everyone in this House to make sure that when we contribute to those discussions and debates, we do so in a way that recognises the obligations we have as a country and tries to calm what is sometimes hysterical language in a way that is reassuring. There are legitimate questions that need to be answered but they can be answered. There are many examples of asylum seekers who have moved to towns and villages without large populations where integration has been a success story. We will continue to ensure that we fulfill our obligations to provide appropriate accommodation for vulnerable families in difficult circumstances.