Ms Emily Logan:

We do not believe the current interim arrangement provides effective access to employment. The starting minimum salary allowable is €30,000, while the minimum wage is €9.55. The suggestion is that the entry point is €14.79 an hour. In our view that is not a legitimate entry point, especially for people who have been in direct provision for a protracted period of time and who have lost many of the skills they brought when they came to this country. Their ability to compete with others is already limited, and we see it as a significant barrier. The current situation is not legitimately presented as effective access. Last week, the Irish Nurses and Midwifery Organisation, INMO, argued about the fact that the entry point for nurses was €28,000. For refugees the entry point is a job paying €30,000, plus the payment of a €1,000 fee. We certainly do not support the interim scheme, as it stands, as being an effective policy approach to access to the labour market.