Noel O'Flynn (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

I am delighted to speak on this important legislation for a modern Ireland that is experiencing extraordinary changes. Only 20 years ago nobody would have believed we would debate immigration in this House as at that time emigration was the subject of much concerned debate. We all remember the 1980s when so many young people left for the United States of America, the UK, Australia and other countries in search of work.

Since the 1990s and the growth of the Celtic tiger Ireland's economic transformation has been accompanied by immigration. People now settle here to make Ireland their home, some permanently and some for a couple of years, and the dramatic transformation in our economy has succeeded in attracting many here. This Bill puts in place the systems and legal mechanisms necessary to manage immigration for the foreseeable future and it is the well researched result of a long consultation programme that brings together the views of experts in the area. The Bill is based on considered responses garnered over a number of years and I commend my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan, on bringing it forward. We should not forget the Trojan work done by the former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr. Michael McDowell, in initiating this Bill and the Immigration Act 2004.

See this speech in context