Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words about this important Bill. The legislation covers a wide spectrum in providing for the application, grant, renewal, refusal and revocation of employment permits. We should debate how the system has worked in the past and how it should operate in future. As the Minister said in his speech, we have a unique situation in that we are now dealing with immigration rather than emigration. I am old enough to remember large-scale emigration when our people left this island and were allowed to work in the UK, the USA, Australia and elsewhere.

We are now talking about immigration rather than mass emigration, which represents a massive change. We can be proud of where we have come from, but we must ensure our regulations and laws are such that everyone, whether Irish-born or not, receives fair treatment. The lack of fair treatment is causing many problems in the work force, which often spill over into social life. We see that happening all too often and sometimes ending in tragedy. We need to ensure people understand each other and are given the same treatment.

Many Irish workers feel their jobs are being undermined because migrant workers have been exploited. There is no doubt about it and we know that from past history. Many Irish workers have made genuine complaints to me and to other public representatives that they are no longer wanted, but their anxieties are not recognised. In larger manufacturing plants the workforce is changing dramatically. I have heard of situations where a few migrant workers were engaged initially, but later they constituted half or three quarters of the workforce. Irish workers feel that some of these workers were employed at lower wage levels, thus putting their own jobs at risk. That is why it is so important to treat everyone equally.

The technicalities of the Bill have been dealt with already by our party's spokespersons and they will be dealt with in further detail in the remaining stages. I wish to refer to a few details that have direct links to the immigration issue. For some years, quite a number of asylum seekers have been looked after in locations such as St. Patrick's College, Monaghan and at Mosney in County Meath. The problem is that they are not allowed to work, which in turn causes resentment. That is part of the background to the misplaced arguments against migrant workers who become confused in the public mind with asylum seekers who have been here for so long.

Many hard-pressed mothers often come into my constituency office to complain that they cannot get a taxi service to bring their children to hospital from rural areas where there is no public transport, yet foreigners — as they class them — can get taxis to Dublin or elsewhere under the asylum procedures. Many such people who are seeking Irish citizenship are only too willing to work if given a chance to do so. They should be given work permits for one, two or three months. Some asylum seekers who have been staying in St. Patrick's College in Monaghan for a long period are not allowed to wash their own dishes, which is demoralising for them and a bad example to their families.

There should be a once-off amnesty for these people. We have good restrictions on others coming in, so we could allow such an amnesty once. It would not be unrealistic to do so at this time when the Government and Opposition parties are seeking an amnesty or special derogation for Irish people who are living and working in the United States without the necessary permits. Since the new regulations were introduced in the United States as a result of the events on 11 September 2001, many Irish people have found themselves in an impossible situation. They cannot return home for weddings, funerals or other occasions. They even find it difficult to obtain driving licences. Since we all agree that it is important to get this situation sorted out for Irish citizens in America, I find it difficult to accept that we cannot do the same for others, many of whom cannot return to their own homes in safety. I heard Deputy O'Donnell talking about such situations in Africa and elsewhere, including the desperate trauma that people suffer. I also heard Deputy Connaughton describing how his forefathers had emigrated to Scotland.

I have had to deal with asylum seekers in Castleblayney and elsewhere but I find it difficult to explain to them why they have been left waiting for three years. Although they are willing and able to work, even in a voluntary capacity, they are not allowed to obtain work permits. If they were earning money and paying their way, they would not be regarded by others as leeches on the community. It would certainly prevent some of the misgivings and misunderstandings that currently exist.

If our economy continues to grow at its current level, it is clear we will need continued immigration but we must ensure the system works. At times, I have questioned the regulations and controls concerning what workers can come here. For instance, in my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, where we have no means of transport other than by road, lorry drivers are often in great demand but not easily found. On a number of occasions, I raised the issue of haulage companies with the Minister's predecessor. Such companies had an opportunity to hire South African drivers but were advised that they could not do so since drivers are available from eastern Europe. It is important to point out that South African drivers are used to driving on the left-hand side of the road and also speak English, which is important for Irish and UK deliveries. This is just one area where there should be more flexibility, thus leading to less road accidents.

I welcome the Bill's provision giving employees more freedom to work where they wish. We can never allow a situation to recur such as occurred with Gama Construction or more recently with Irish Ferries. In recent days Gama Construction signed a major roads contract in my constituency. It is vital that we not only introduce regulations to monitor how it and others treat their employees but also that we have the inspectors to enforce the law. It is not sufficient to promise to increase the number of inspectors. It is important that they have the finance and wherewithal to operate. I am not being political but factual. In 1989 the then Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Michael O'Kennedy, introduced laws regarding meat and bonemeal, which was the right thing to do at the time. However, unfortunately no inspectorate was ever appointed until we found ourselves with BSE in 1996. It was only then, seven years later, that inspectors were appointed and paid to do a job that could have saved the country a considerable amount of money. In light of those issues I raise this matter and I do not do so in a party political way. It is important that we have the personnel to control the laws we are about to pass.

It is public knowledge how Gama Construction used ingenious schemes to pay unfortunate workers a pittance while they built the country's infrastructure. Not one person has been punished for this disgraceful treatment of workers. What additional resources will be made available to the labour inspectorate and other bodies that will enforce the legislation? How does the Department intend to communicate these new rights to migrant workers? I heard previous speakers refer to the language issue. Many of these people do not have a good grasp of the English language and may not be fully aware of their rights. On the other hand I am told by employers that many of them have a good grasp of the language and certainly know their entitlements. Who will co-operate with the foreign embassies to ensure these rights are translated into meaningful improvements for migrant workers upon entry to the country? It is important for Irish workers that migrant workers are not exploited and that they are all seen to be on the same level. If we are entitled to bring in workers and pay them, we must ensure that the house with which they are provided is not used as a means to halve their wages. All those issues must be addressed, which can only happen if we have an appropriate labour inspectorate.

If we are to see migrant workers as part of the Irish culture in the future, as Deputy Devins said, we must address the issue of the family. While I appreciate that it is not the responsibility of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, it is a matter for the Government. If people are good enough to come here and fill vital vacancies as nurses, doctors or in other areas, they should have the right to bring their spouses and rear their families here. In our history those who emigrated to work in the US or the UK had a legal right to bring their families.

I will mention one case that seems curious. Of eight workers in one company, six successfully applied to have their wives join them and in some cases their children. However, two workers failed. Those two worked in the same company on the same wages and come from the same country. It is very hard to understand how such a thing can happen. In another case a young man had been working for three years in a relatively good job with a house supplied. He failed in his application to get his wife to join him even though his friend, whose job was not so good, was facilitated. If we are to respect the families of migrant workers we must consider this issue seriously. In one case a migrant worker was refused permission to bring his wife and children here for a short holiday in spite of being prepared to give sureties.

We should encourage migrant workers to become involved in the community, church and sporting activities so that they can become part of the Irish structure. If we fail to do so we will have serious problems of social exclusion etc. Some families coming here may need special education etc. We need to work together not just in employment but in education, health, justice and so on.

I noted some points of the Minister's speech with interest. As a farmer dealing with some of the bureaucracy that we had been promised would be eliminated, I could not help highlighting one comment the Minister made about job offers. He stated: "Our system will be simple and transparent, rather than complex and bureaucratic." I hope this is the case not just for the Minister's sake but for everybody's. Small companies that find it hard to develop and stay in business have the greatest difficulty in getting migrant workers through the system. The bigger companies that can afford to utilise intermediaries can get the number of workers they need without any problem. This was the case even at a time when migrant workers were not supposed to be permitted here. While this does not reflect personally on the Minister, I have found it difficult to contact the Department. If it is difficult for me to get through, how much more difficult must it be for someone with poor English. These matters need to be addressed and clarified.

In general I welcome the Bill. It is vital that migrant workers are permitted to enter the country. I challenge the way asylum seekers are being treated. I raise the matter in a genuine manner and am not trying to stir matters politically. The issue could be addressed very quickly and eliminated once and for all. If the backlog could be addressed, new asylum seekers could be dealt with quickly. In the case of my friend in Castleblaney, she has been there for three years with her children. They had settled into school and one of them was about to do examinations. They were suddenly deported. For a country that claims to be Christian based, that is not a compassionate way to operate. While I do not suggest that we should have an open-door policy, we should find a way to deal with this issue once and for all. The permits system exists for those wanting to enter the country. The small number of permits that would clear that issue would allow us to get on with other business.

In general I agree with the Bill and I hope any matters that need to be amended will be addressed in a constructive way on Committee Stage.

See this speech in context