Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. It is very welcome legislation that gives us the opportunity to deal with many of the issues we are now facing in the area of immigration. The recent growth in the rate of immigration in Ireland is resulting in what is, arguably, the greatest economic and social transformation in our country since independence. Immigration and immigration policy have developed in a haphazard manner over the past ten years. This transformation presents Ireland with both a significant challenge and an opportunity. Given Ireland's history of emigration, the country has a special responsibility to address the challenge of immigration.

While immigration can be excellent for Ireland's future, it is imperative that we get it right. Immigrants have rights but they also have responsibilities. They should have the right to be free from discrimination and have their contribution to the country recognised, but they also have the responsibility to integrate into our community, comply with our laws and respect our cultural traditions. I do not want to see a situation develop where our immigrant population live separate lives. We have a responsibility to facilitate and encourage this integration. Immigration must be managed in a way that keeps Ireland safe. We must ensure that Irish laws are understood and adhered to by immigrants. We must also send a strong message that people who want to come to this country to commit serious crime are not welcome and will be dealt with severely. I commend the Minister on the provisions of the trafficking legislation.

Immigration must be a force for improving rather than threatening living standards. We must protect Irish jobs and the rights of those who come here to work. Companies that pay below the minimum wage should face severe fines. Immigration levels from non-EU countries must be explicitly linked to the economic conditions and needs of our labour market.

Immigration policy must be supported by a system which is efficient, fair and transparent. Our immigration system is an obscure system with no clear rules or information about how it works and how an applicant gets into the country. This is bad for the migrant who wants to come here and contribute to society and the economy. For Irish citizens, it breaks down trust between people and our immigration system.

While this Bill is very welcome and is long overdue legislation which tries to address the flaws in the current haphazard system and while I do not doubt the Minister's intentions and his attempt to streamline the process, there are holes in it. I acknowledge the thrust of the Bill, although it contains some weaknesses and areas that need further clarification. In fairness, the Minister acknowledged those in his Second Stage speech.

I have a principal objection to the legislation, which is its vagueness. As the Minister stated last night, immigration policy needs to be fluid and policy will be given effect via secondary legislation and administrative schemes. There are 116 references to regulations in the legislation and 151 references to orders. All of this will come before the House through secondary legislation, which we all accept is not being dealt with adequately in the House. That is a principal issue with which we must deal on Committee Stage.

Key questions remain unanswered in the Bill. Who gets in and under what circumstances? What rights and responsibilities do they have? While the legislation clearly states who is or may not be entitled to enter, it is ambiguous on key issues like criminality and is silent about who is entitled to enter.

As I said previously, we want an immigration system that is efficient, fair and transparent. Sadly, when tested against those three principles, this legislation is very weak. While there is no doubt that the legislation will assist in the management of the existing system, there is no indication that it will address the long and protracted delays that are systemic in the current process.

One issue that is not mentioned in the legislation is customer service. I can guarantee that if the type of service provided at the moment was replicated in any other element of Irish society, there would be blue murder in the House. Even the HSE would come close to it. This issue must be addressed to ensure that we have a proper customer service policy in respect of our immigration system. It does not just relate to the public. Members of this House experience the same problem when they try to contact the immigration service and this issue needs to be addressed.

It takes between 18 months and two years to process a long-term residency application, after which an applicant may then be required to furnish police clearance from their country of origin, which can take a further 12 months. A citizenship application can take up to three years to process at the end of which period an applicant might be refused because of a small technicality and put back on the list. As for the asylum process, that can take years.

I question the Government's commitment to delivering an efficient service. The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, budget for 2008 has been cut by €4 million to help pay for the Office of the Minister for Integration. In that regard, the fund for the integration of legally resident migrants, which was established last year, appears to have evaporated after only one year. A total of 22 organisations were funded under the scheme last year. Many of them are only beginning to have an impact in terms of the work they are doing and now the rug is being pulled out from under them because the Minister says the funds of €2.5 million that were made available last year will not be available this year. It is one thing to bring forward legislation, and the Minister's colleague, the Minister for integration, has highlighted many issues, but in terms of his own responsibility the resources do not appear to be available.

The Minister pointed out in a Dáil reply to me last year that the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal and the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service have vacancies totalling approximately 90 staff. While the process will be streamlined and the right to go to court restricted, we still have no indication how it will impact on the current waiting times, which are unjust. They are unjust in terms of the asylum applicant — from now on in the legislation referred to as the protection applicant — who must reside year after year in an accommodation centre with nothing to do. That is inhumane for any individual and it is unjust for Irish citizens who must fund a system to the tune of over €350 million a year for court, accommodation, processing and deportation costs.

Under the proposed system of processing immigration and protection applications, there is no degree of transparency. For example, we cannot get a definitive answer on the number of deportation orders that have not been served. A total of 5,630 people appear to have evaded deportation orders. We do not know how many of those are still resident in the country. The Department does not appear to know either and while some of us suspect that some of those people may have been illegally trafficked into the country, there are no figures in that regard. We do not know what is going on and the Department does not seem to know either.

While the Minister may make a regulation outlining the procedures for granting immigration or protection status, the real fear is that the current practice of implementing policy through a scheme within the Department will continue and with it the cloak of secrecy surrounding the entire immigration process. The public remain none the wiser as to the person or persons who will be given a right to remain or enter this country. That power, while rightly held with the Minister, should be clear and unambiguous as to the type of person who will be allowed entry and given residency.

The Bill fails to set out clear rules regarding the rights and obligations of migrants who come into Ireland and as a result, the rules setting out the basis for migrants to enter and remain in the State, the conditions on such permissions that will be granted, the entitlements of migrants and who may or may not remain in the State is being left to secondary legislation.

It is important for the Minister to clearly set out for migrants their entitlements and obligations in primary legislation which will help to prevent the difficulties they and those charged with administering and enforcing immigration legislation currently face. That in itself would save money and will also help the public understand the immigration rules in this jurisdiction.

It is clear that the current process does not deal fairly with applications. The best example of that is that our courts are filled with judicial review applications.

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