NONE of the main political parties is willing to take serious risks with their policy pronouncements. Safety is the order of the political day. The ideas and proposals that emanate from the various party offices in Leinster House generally dovetail with the concerns of the electorate as revealed in focus group research. Separate research recently commissioned by Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour has all revealed the same underlying messages.

The focus-group sessions have been telling the parties that crime, health and quality-of-life issues such as traffic and childcare are high up the list of voter concerns. The parties have been taking their leads from this information and they've been prioritising their billboard campaigns and policy proposals accordingly. But one other issue has also emerged repeatedly . . .immigration. The pace and scale of the demographic changes over the last decade have been enormous. For many voters, there are legitimate concerns about what all the changes mean. The research also indicates that people's heads are also filled with plenty of illinformed opinions about immigrants.

In many constituencies, immigration will be a real issue as the next general election campaign approaches. So far, none of the main parties has openly attempted to exploit voter uncertainty, but none has yet presented forward-looking strategies for immigration. In nine years as Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern has yet to deliver a significant speech on the subject. Enda Kenny has also avoided the topic.

That's why it was interesting to see Pat Rabbitte returning to the immigration theme in recent weeks. The Labour leader embroiled himself in considerable controversy earlier in the year with ham-fisted comments about 40m Poles arriving on Irish shores. The public silence from his own party colleagues was intriguing, especially when it emerged that Labour was privy to fascinating focus-group research which pointed to considerable voter unease about the scale of recent immigration. In his latest comments, Rabbitte again failed to support his own case when he highlighted what he believes are the negative economic consequences of immigration. Cheaper foreign labour is driving Irish workers out of jobs was his message. In a throwaway line, Rabbitte lamented that in the immigration debate, "the bigger challenges of integration and assimilation rarely surface." It's a pity then that he didn't give us his vision.

A national debate on immigration is urgently needed. As a society we need to tease out the future implications of the 'new Irish', but without recourse to ill-informed commentary or blatant political opportunism.

A worthwhile remembrance IN THIS year of political anniversaries, it's good to see that the death of Tom Kettle in September 1916 is to be remembered in Dublin early next month.

Kettle was a man of many interests who lived a colourful life. He qualified as a barrister, worked as a journalist and served as a Home Rule MP in the House of Commons, where he represented the Tyrone constituency. In 1908, he became the first Professor of National Economics at University College Dublin, a post which has now been allowed to disappear with the recent retirement of Brendan Walsh. Kettle was killed in September 1916 in France, during the Battle of the Somme. Historians Margaret O'Callaghan and Eunan O'Halpin, along with Conor Cruise O'Brien, will be among the speakers at the Kettle anniversary meeting on Thursday 7 September, at 6.45pm in the Bank of Ireland House of Lords in College Green, Dublin.

In another twist, the event is being organised by barrister Frank Callanan and RTE broadcaster Gerald Barry. Both Callanan and Barry share the distinction of being Auditor of the L&H debating society at UCD, a position also held by Kettle during his student days.

THEY have a peculiar way of censoring their members in Fianna Fail. The party hierarchy has been signalling its desire to punish Liam Kelly, one of its Dublin councillors who's been caught up in a bit of bother over alleged drug-taking. The local representative, who's denied the claims, should lose the party whip pending the outcome of a Garda investigation, according to junior minister Noel Ahern.

The last we checked, however, Jim McDaid (above) still had the FF whip in Leinster House and had not been suspended as a party member despite his drink-driving problems. Similarly, Michael Collins has not faced suspension as a FF member despite his difficulties with the Revenue. Other names come to mind, Denis Foley, GV Wright, Beverley Flynnf and let's not forget Ray Burke.

Did FF ever get around to suspending/expelling Burke after he resigned from the cabinet and left national political life in disgrace? He's probably still a member. Peculiar, indeed.

Dissent is good for the health FIANNA Fail

Michael Finneran may not be the only person with resignation on his mind over the provision of services at Roscommon Hospital. Finneran's threat to leave political life if the HSE persists with a proposal to downgrade the status of the hospital will test the mettle of Brendan Drumm, CEO of the HSE.

The HSE wants to withdraw in-patient surgery facilities at the county hospital. This idea has met with considerable local opposition. If the government doesn't back Drumm, then serious questions will be asked about the independence of the HSE. Brendan Drumm . . . political puppet? Bye, bye, professor.