People Before Profit wants to respond to a demand that was made yesterday by some Deputies for a reasonable and respectful debate on refugees. It is not the first time we heard that matter raised by those Deputies but we want to respond to it in the way that will give clarity on some of the misinformation that is coming forward. We also want to say that if the Deputies think they are being silenced for wanting real and respectful debate, then they need to check their facts and move sharply away from the hateful and dangerous lies that are being bandied about by elements who have different interests in blaming refugees. Rather than punching down at those who may be perceived to be below us because they come here looking for refuge, help and support, they should kick up and look at what the Government has brought us to in homelessness, a health crisis, a lack of childcare and workers moving away from education because they cannot live in their towns and cities. It is the Government that is to blame and not the refugees.

The argument around refugees in social media and published online, featuring some Deputies, is hateful. It is bizarre to me that those who profess to hold Christian values most preciously in this Chamber are the ones who are sending out a season's greeting that says there is no room at the inn. Christian values should know they come from the flight of the family from Egypt knocking on doors and being pushed away. Christian values are hugely important at this time. Away from the respectful debate and the racist stereotypes of single men of military age coming to this country, we need to be careful not to repeat far right arguments in an attempt to deflect from the real social causes and economic problems we have, which are the responsibility of the Members opposite me.

When you strip away those who have come from Ukraine, most of the refugees are coming from Georgia, Algeria, Somalia and Zimbabwe. Most of those societies have been massively impacted by the war in Russia, particularly Georgia. One million men left Russia during the conscription for the Ukraine war and most of them ended up in Georgia. Georgia is in the eye of a massive geopolitical storm and is meant to be next in line for attack by Russia. Syria remains the scene of historic and massive human suffering. Afghanistan and Africa are wrecked by the interference of imperial powers, climate change and social collapse. A cursory look at the history of Algeria, or any of the states that are deemed to be safe states that refugees are coming from, will show how false and dangerous this narrative is. If you bother to look at what is happening across Africa, Afghanistan or Algeria, you will see how gay communities, women and anybody who is different is being attacked and forced out.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is important we facilitate open debate. Members of this House and the public are entitled to raise concerns, undertake legitimate protest and hold this Government to account in every way they possibly can. That said, the Government has international obligations which we will fulfil. The response of the Irish people to the humanitarian crisis of the terrible war in Ukraine and those coming here seeking international protection has been second to none. We would expect nothing less from the Irish people. That is not to say it has been easy. It has not been easy and it will continue to present real challenges for the public service, the Government and communities throughout the country that we ask to take in groups of people whom they do not know. Inevitably that will be exploited by people who hold certain views. There is no question about that.

It is important to put it all in context. The number of people who have come to Ireland in recent months is beyond parallel. We have provided a safe haven to more than 67,000 people fleeing a brutal war, and that is the context for all of those people. I will come to the international protection process in a moment but these people are fleeing war. They are in fear of losing their lives and worried about their family members and communities. We have an obligation to protect them. We may not be able to provide accommodation and support of a standard we would like to in ideal circumstances, but we will make sure their basic needs are met. I commend the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, his officials and those in the international protection accommodation service, IPAS, on providing services and accommodation to people coming here from Ukraine. They have provided accommodation for almost 50,000 people who have arrived from Ukraine. In addition to that, from the beginning of this year to date, almost 14,000 people have arrived in Ireland seeking international protection. The average number of people seeking protection from 2017 to 2019 was about 3,500, so by the end of the year it will be clear that the number of people who have come here this year has increased fourfold relative to what might be called a normal year.

However, I am not sure we will see normal years again. That is the reality. The Deputy spoke about the geopolitical developments all over the world and they will not end any time soon. Be they war, famine or the impact of climate change, we have to develop a system and a capacity to respond to people who come here. We have a process and people who come here claiming international protection will go through that process. It is important that every case is dealt with on its individual merits and in line with our international obligations, and that is what we will do. Between people who have fled the war in Ukraine and people who have come to this country seeking international protection, the State is providing accommodation for almost 68,000 people, and this has presented challenges. The Government will work collectively to address those challenges in the best way we can. We had a good Cabinet committee meeting earlier this week where we heard, for example, of the plans to roll out a new community support fund to assist and invest in communities that have opened up their arms and, in many cases, opened up their hearts and homes to people coming to Ireland for safety, security and a better future.

When I put this question I reckoned it would give the Government an opportunity to praise itself, but I want to make the following point to the Minister. The Government needs to think twice about the sort of praise it is heaping on itself. Before any refugee crisis happened here, we had a crisis in our health service, our education system, our childcare service and, in particular, with our housing. When other people who live here look around them and blame the refugees because they can and fail to look up and blame the Government, we have a problem. It is the Government that is to blame. A woman stood up at a public meeting in Ballyfermot and said to the people who had attacked refugees or were giving out about them that she had been on the housing list for 15 years and no refugee was to blame for that. She said that was the fault of the Government. There are 160,000 vacant homes in this country and the Government has made no move to refurbish, claim or open them. If people who are homeless or sick complain about refugees, it is a problem the Government has to answer to. The problem I have with what the Deputies argue is that they feed into a racist and ugly narrative that is about in our society. I am calling on communities in the run-up to Christmas to open their arms to these people and to make sure they are made to feel welcome. They should not blame refugees and should learn the facts about what is happening on the planet and about what this Government has done and continues to do to this society in the third-richest country on the planet.

The Deputy does not want a balanced debate at all.

The initial contribution of the Deputy was not directed at the Government, as I heard it.

They were directed at others in this House and perhaps people outside it. I was entitled to set out from the Government's perspective what we are doing to deal with what is a very challenging situation. We must be fair, open and honest about that. I will always vindicate and stand behind the rights of others to raise questions and to have legitimate debate but it was important to put that in context and in the context of what the Government is doing. It certainly was not self-praise in any way.

However, Ireland is a good country. It is a place people want to come and live and work in and rear a family. That is borne out by all the evidence. Apart from the flow of Ukrainian refugees and people seeking international protection, all the evidence points to Ireland being regarded as an attractive country where people see a bright future and opportunity. Of course, that places more pressure on our health system, the housing crisis we face and the delivery of public services but this Government will continue to do its best to meet those obligations. I pay tribute to the 4,500 people who are now in receipt of the accommodation recognition payment in respect of almost 10,000 Ukrainians who have come here seeking refuge and support. I pay tribute to them and the Irish people.