Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

Good. Let us debate that on Committee Stage. There is much in the Bill to discuss on that Stage.

There is some merit in the argument that we apply a quota. It is less selfish than saying we will let people in only where the job exists, as opposed to allowing some economic migration into the country. We are a player in the world market and, while I do not wish to sound pejorative, we can share some of the burden of people who want to migrate in here. We could do this in a structured way that is not exclusively defined according to absolute need in our economy. That is a debating point for Committee Stage.

I understood green cards would be granted to those people we have identified who applied and would meet the conditions and that allocation would signify a degree of permanence. These people would be allowed to put down roots and have a stake in this society, and not be seen as a "temporary arrangement"— to borrow a phrase — to meet a temporary difficulty. In effect, the Bill puts the current working visa authorisation scheme which is re-presented as a green card system, on a statutory basis.

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