Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

I congratulate Deputy Willie Penrose on tabling this motion. Although that might appear somewhat hollow as he is my party colleague, it is important nevertheless. For as long as I have known Deputy Penrose, he always has been a strong and highly vocal supporter of the underdog.

History will judge us harshly. When the Celtic tiger first started to roar, there were no agency workers in Ireland. The circumstances that led to the boom in Ireland's economy were not achieved with the help of agency workers, shoddy practices or lack of protection for workers. I know someone with lifelong involvement in the labour movement who often makes the point that protection for workers in Ireland 20 years ago was better than is the case at present. For example, if one entered employment 20 years ago, one was guaranteed a pension. Twenty years ago, when one took up employment one was told one's rights and that one should join a union that would protect one, but those protections no longer exist. Twenty years ago, the current Taoiseach told us he would introduce a Bill that would ensure workers would be protected and would have the right to join unions. We are now building our economy and its wealth on the backs of others, which is despicable.

I know people who worked in England in the 1950s for no more than five or six years and the pensions department contacted them and told them that, as a result of their having done so, they are entitled to a pension, albeit small. I refer to the old enemy across the way that we often blame for all our woes. However, it treated us with respect and decency when we went there to work, which is all we ask in respect of those who come to Ireland to work.

There are 600 recruitment agencies in Ireland, which has a population of 4 million. Poland, which has a population of 40 million, has 700 such agencies. One may ask whether the agencies in Ireland are here for the good of their health or because they know we need them. They are here because they know there is money to be made and people to be exploited.

I listened to the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, speak about integration. I live in Blackpool, which has a large number of foreign workers, many of whom are from eastern Europe. The Minister of State, Deputy Kelleher, knows the area well and will know there is no integration and that immigrants come and go. If one says "hello" to them on the street, they will reply, but there is no integration because they do not feel welcome or wanted and they know they are being exploited. They will not stay in Ireland.

The home countries of immigrants have infrastructure that we do not yet have and they had it before they joined the European Union. As soon as these countries get up off their knees, their emigrants will return home. If we do not start looking after them, it will undermine the protections our workers should enjoy. We should start telling Irish workers to look out for their fellow employees because as long as their employers get away with exploiting other workers, it puts their own jobs in jeopardy. This undercuts the wage structure and protections for Irish workers. It is not fair on good employers and they should not have to compete with others who are clearly not paying the same salaries or affording the same protections.

When the Minister of State, Deputy Kelleher, goes to the meeting of the Council of Ministers, he will have to tell the attendees that Ireland withdraws its objection. Objecting is not becoming of us as a nation whose citizens went everywhere, built economies abroad and were treated fairly and decently when doing so. There was no Irish man or woman in England who was paid less than the English citizen with whom he or she worked side by side. It just did not happen and they were afforded the same protections. If there was exploitation, it was usually by our own.

It does not serve us well to allow people to be exploited. We should prevent it because we can. We will need our economic migrants in the future and this need will be far greater than their need for us. Whenever I consider such matters, I first ask myself how I would feel if I, my daughter, son or sister were exploited. I know the answer: I would not like it, I would feel abused and used. The people to whom I refer feel they do not have the right to protest. They are not here because they love us or for the scenery, and God knows they are not here for the weather, they are here because they do not have a choice. It is immoral to exploit someone in such circumstances. We should not be surprised by it but we really need to ensure it does not continue.

See this speech in context