Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

This Bill has been a long time in gestation. Much of it was conjured up because there is no immigration policy here. Despite a future skills needs evaluation being carried out by the Minister's Department through Forfás, I expected he would have had access to the research being carried out by the National Economic and Social Council before coming to this House with the type of sustaining influences required to provide an Employment Permits Act, which will give transparency to the workers who are currently in this jurisdiction and those who will come here in the future.

Ireland missed out on the last industrial revolution. The strength of the Irish economy in recent years indicates that the Celtic tiger is still going well. Employment is good, the level of unemployment is low and the skills needs for the economy in the future are an important factor. A study by the Minister's Department will highlight a number of areas of our economic activity that will require a significant level of skills to be brought into this jurisdiction. These are in a wide variety of areas, which is why I would like to know why are we so stringent in regard to the financial or wage parameters to which the Minister referred in one of his pillars in respect of the green card system. This system may have to be flexible and reviewed on a regular basis if we are to meet the skills shortages in engineering, pharmaceuticals and across a wide variety of employment opportunities where companies cannot fill the level of skills currently required. It is a tremendous change from the type of Ireland we had in the previous century when people had to emigrate to build up the economies of other jurisdictions. As that trend is now in reverse, we must find a mechanism through the employment permits system whereby we welcome overseas workers and ensure they have the same protections as Irish employees in this jurisdiction.

Study after study indicates the severe difficulties in finding the right people for the right jobs. This includes in areas such as finance, the leisure industry, health care and within management in the retail sector. Many migrant workers are employed in the hospitality sector. We are all aware that the vast majority of people who work in restaurants and hotels on the lower wages are non-nationals. This trend is likely to continue and we do not want to see exploitation of the situation for the benefit of reducing costs for employers because these workers are making a contribution to the economy and to the sector in which they are employed.

The legal framework whereby workers could come into this country has been unclear for a long time. This is as a result of not having a proper immigration policy. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment have been slow to have an open and transparent debate in this House or elsewhere to discover the reasons we need to have workers, where are the skills shortages in the various parts of the economy and how can we come up with a system that is less harsh than has been the case up to now. I hear much criticism from time to time in regard to work visas and work permits in that some individuals who genuinely want to make a contribution to the economy are being harshly treated. The process by which these applications are processed is very slow. We must be more responsive if we are to have a continuation of migrant workers into this country. No one doubts that there must be rules. The green card system is an initiative to give us some semblance of rules to deal with the matter, with which I will deal later.

Prior to the last election the attitude of the some backbenchers and members of the Government, which have been toned down recently, was less than satisfactory in regard to the base instincts of some people to migrant workers. Since the last election, a Minister of State referred to people as "kebabs", for which he was not punished. This type of attitude cannot be tolerated if we want to welcome people into this country to make a contribution to our future economic development. We cannot stand idly by and allow these racist remarks or xenophobia to increase. In the recent case of Irish Ferries, there was a temptation on the part of some people who, for one reason or another, were being displaced as local domestic and indigenous employees by foreign workers, to build up some resentment towards these workers, which is the last thing we want. The State should provide an education and information programme which is up-front in regard to the need for these workers to ensure there is a major economic drive in the country in the years ahead.

It is important to base employment forecasts on population forecasts. It is worth reflecting on the statistical analysis of Mr. Aidan Punch of the CSO, who recently commented that the Republic's population is expected to increase from the current level of just over four million to 5.5 million by 2030, which is a huge increase. He went on to say in his speech to the Magill Summer School that births are projected to average around 63,300 annually, with deaths averaging 32,400, leading to an annual natural increase in population of 30,900. However, migration is projected to differ markedly from that experienced in the past. Part of the reason for so many shortages in various sectors of the economy is that we have not planned for it. There is a significant dearth of forward planning across a wide variety of sectors in the economy, not least in terms of employment projection. We have known for several years that this would be a problem, and we have reached the 11th hour again before to dealing with the issue. We have experienced the need for and enrichment of certain categories of migrant workers. The transparency they are creating through the proposal for the green card system is to be welcomed.

When the Bill was published, the Minister stated that in regard to work permits, the legislation will enable the Minister, every two years, to set the maximum number of employment permits to be issued both in total and by sector, to identify the skills and qualifications required for the grant of a permit, and to identify the categories of employment that may or may not be the subject of granting employment permits. I agree with that statement and Fine Gael welcomes the provision. The more information there is in regard to that statement on the publication of the Bill, the more people will understand why there are so many migrant workers walking around our towns and villages and why they are needed in certain sectors of the economy.

The Bill allows for the creation of a green card system. The Minister stated that the practice of employers applying for the permit will continue. I am open to debate on this issue. In the past, the practice of giving a work permit to an employer was open to exploitation.

See this speech in context