James Breen (Clare, Independent)

In general, I welcome the introduction of this Bill. A number of its features are important to ensure that non-nationals working here are not used and abused as happened in the past. I have some reservations about matters not fully addressed in the Bill. I welcome the change in respect of work permits going directly to the worker concerned, with a copy sent to the employer. This will allow workers greater freedom and the ability to change employer provided they stay in the same line of work as the original work permit allows. There does not seem to be provision to change the nature of employment should that type of work no longer be required of if the employer ceases to trade.

We are using people in a manner that suits our current needs, consigning them to their fate when we no longer need their skills. This is unfair and runs against any sense of natural justice. There is a need for flexibility on the possibility of changing the nature of work so that non-national workers can feel more secure in their new life here.

I welcome the inclusion of the section whereby an employer cannot keep any personal documents such as a passport, documents regarding accounts in financial institutions, documents regarding skills and qualifications and travel documents of non-national workers. As we have seen in the past, this practice among some employers led to discrimination and the abuse of workers. To the best of my knowledge, however, there are many employers who have non-nationals working for them who are recruited by and working for agencies. Such employers contact the agencies to provide the worker and do not employ the non-national directly. My concern is that unless it is clearly stated in the Bill, some agencies may be in a position to retain such documents and abuse the worker involved. It must be clearly stated that nobody has the right to retain such documents belonging to any other person.

I welcome the provision that workers are to be paid the minimum wage as it will work towards preventing abuses that occurred in the past. Once again, however, it does not go far enough to ensure the worker is treated fairly. There should be a provision included stating that the standard wage for the job should be paid to non-national workers. That will not please the employers who seek to take advantage of cheaper labour but out of a sense of natural justice it is only fair that non-nationals be paid the same rate as Irish people for the same work. After all, the job is being offered to non-nationals because an Irish or EU citizen has not taken up such an offer. In this instance, a non-national worker should have the same employment rights as an EU citizen and should be paid accordingly for similar work.

The limited provisions contained in the Bill are long overdue and there is no reason the Government could not have introduced them a long time ago. Economists have been warning for years that a large number of skilled foreign workers are necessary for our future economic growth. If people were offered a fair wage for the work, it would stop situations arising such as the one Irish Ferries. We can avail of a non-national willing to come here to work but we should not boost our economy and standard of living at the expense of those people. If they are willing to help with the work, we should be willing to share the profits of their labour equally with them.

In the event of a permit being denied, the appeal is carried out by an officer appointed by the Minister for that purpose. That is unfair as an appeal should be lodged with an independent body to allow for the people to have a fair hearing. That process must be changed and an independent body formed to handle such appeals.

The Bill will go some way towards preventing the sort of abuse of foreign workers that has come to light in recent months. The provision of a green card system as a mechanism to recruit skilled workers is necessary. However, the Bill also raises some significant questions about the rights of the green card holder. If a green card holder believes he is being mistreated, for example, how should he proceed? Will he be able to seek alternative employment, spend a period of time unemployed or forced to leave the country? What about the amount workers must earn in a year? If they are to be paid the minimum wage they cannot earn a substantial amount. Where does that leave them?

The Bill does nothing to clarify the confusion surrounding the rights of foreign workers to bring their families to Ireland. Does the Government have any appreciation of the hardship suffered by these workers being apart from their families? What would be our reaction if Irish workers in foreign countries were denied the right to bring their families with them?

There is nothing in the Bill to help non-nationals to integrate into Irish society or to help Irish people to deal with different cultures and learn about inter-cultural living. Such provisions are necessary if we are to avoid inter-cultural conflict and stereotyping, which will lead to increased racism and be greatly detrimental to our society. The Bill needs to be improved greatly before it will have any beneficial effect on this society.

There are hundreds of undocumented Irish in New York and throughout the United States. I appeal to this Government to do whatever it can to ensure those people get an amnesty. After all, we opened up our air space to allow the transit of American troops to the war in Iraq. The Americans should now give us back something in return and legalise our Irish emigrants. Anyone who has been in the US for more than five years deserves that. We should encourage our Minister for Foreign Affairs to ensure that happens.

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