Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

Everybody in the House will welcome this Bill and the opportunity to debate the issues surrounding immigration and integration. As Deputy Kennedy has outlined every public representative will have met people on a daily basis seeking asylum or refugee status, wanting to bring in family members, looking for work permits or whatever. It is very distressing for people and it is difficult for public representatives such as myself who are restricted as to what can be done for people other than to offer them a map through the system as it exists.

We have had an influx of immigrants because the economy is so successful, we are told. Ireland, too, has a history of emigration and on the whole Irish people have sympathy for immigrants and want to see them dealt with in a fair, open and transparent fashion. Irish citizens wish to know, too, what the rights of immigrants are so that everyone knows where they stand. We have been asking for this for a long time.

If one wants to get into the United States, one has to have the correct documentation in place, even for a short stay. We are very familiar with the story of the undocumented Irish in the United States. The work permit system in place there is accepted, however, as regards whether a spouse is allowed to live in the US or how long one may be entitled to stay, whether on holiday or for a prescribed work period. It is clear and documented and people treat the system with respect. We certainly hope the situation of the undocumented Irish in the United States can be resolved.

In the last ten years we have seen an enormous influx of immigrants into Ireland. We have moved from being a country where formerly the emphasis was on emigration to one where it is on immigration. I certainly hope Ireland will continue to attract immigrants for the foreseeable future, as we need the skills they can bring. We need an efficient workforce and we need to value the contribution immigrants can make to Irish society, whether they come from inside or outside the European Union. This Bill refers in particular to people from outside Europe. In the last five years more than 100,000 people from outside the European Economic Area have come to this State for employment purposes. That is in addition to the significant numbers who have come to Ireland seeking asylum, refugee status or for study purposes. Principally people come here for work purposes or to seek asylum. The number of work permit applications has decreased since 2005, and the number of work permit refusals has remained fairly constant. People seeking work permits come mainly from India, the Philippines, South Africa, the United States and Malaysia. We recently had discussions in the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment on the whole area of skills and the need to upgrade training in Ireland. Employers in the information technology area, looking for computer graduates, invariably have to go outside the European Economic Area to source qualified people. We are now getting many people from Eastern Europe, but nonetheless, there is a dependence on foreign nationals from outside the EEA to work in the IT sector. Ireland is certainly not producing sufficient graduates in this area.

The numbers applying for asylum have been reducing gradually, but the numbers being refused have remained constant, at just under 70%, which is relatively high. The fact it takes so long to come to a decision on asylum has caused great hardship in many cases. As has been mentioned by previous speakers, people may have been in the country for a long time because it takes such an age for their asylum application to be processed. The children go to school and make their first holy communion and some may be doing State examinations. I refer to the case of a boy who was prevented from sitting the leaving certificate examination because his asylum application was not successful. These are difficult and personal cases and nobody wants to see such a situation arise. It is a matter of speeding up the asylum application process by ensuring the necessary resources are in place to deal with the applicants. It is a tragic situation when people are left waiting for a decision for many years and if the decision goes against them they will invariably appeal that decision which takes a long time. By that stage they have become accustomed to the nature of Irish society and it can be extremely difficult for them.

I stress the importance of integration but it has not always been successful in other EU states and we can learn lessons from other countries. People should not be corralled into geographical areas or into certain types of employment. They should be provided with language support and with support to help them integrate into this society.

I have first-hand experience of our school system as it operates in many schools across Cork. The schools are doing very well especially with the young children. The children sitting next to them are children like themselves and they act as they do. This supports integration because language is not a problem for the very young children whereas it is problematic for their parents who have neither the language support nor the language services. This is an area which requires intervention. Teachers need to be supported when dealing with older children who do not speak English which is the predominant language in this country. Older children should be given language support so that they can participate in class. These are issues to do with integration. We must ensure that people living here who have been granted Irish citizenship are facilitated in integrating as it will benefit us all in the long term.

I welcome some of the provisions of the Bill. The existing legislation dates back to the 1930s and there is a need to modernise it. Integration and immigration are being dealt with on an ad hoc basis so it is time we faced up to the matter and gave some clarity to those who wish to come to this country. The Bill deals with those both lawfully and unlawfully resident in the country. A person is lawfully resident if he or she has a visa and has been issued with an entry permit for a specified duration. The problem is that people can become unlawfully resident in the State if they overstay their permitted time or if they attempt to enter the State unlawfully. The Bill allows for certain official ports or points of entry which will be determined by the Minister. This matter can be further debated on Committee Stage. The naming of specific ports and points of entry is to be welcomed. Those without the necessary entry permits can present themselves at such entry points and it will be illegal to enter the country by any other means.

We are a small island nation and most travellers enter from another European country such as the UK and France. People come to this country having been in another European country. I welcome clarification of the issue of lawful points of entry. I note that a person can be deemed to be in the country unlawfully if the work permit issued to his or her employer has expired.

This Bill is an important step in developing a fair, open and transparent system for everybody. However, much in this Bill has been left to the discretion of the relevant Minister. A total of 116 regulations and 151 orders require to be made by the Minister and this accounts for a certain amount of vagueness. I expect this will be further debated on Committee Stage.

I refer to family reunification which is a key subject but which is not resolved in this Bill. At the moment non-European Union citizens cannot bring family members to reside in Ireland. This causes great hardship. I have many cases where people have applied for residency but they are not permitted to bring their family members, such as young children or a spouse. I refer to a couple from Georgia whose seven year old son is living with his grandparents in Georgia for the past five years. This is a very difficult situation for that couple. They are hoping their residency permits will be accepted but in the meantime they are not permitted to have their son here with them. I do not think anybody is comfortable with such a situation which has been continuing for five years. The spouse of a person from outside the European Union is not permitted to work and this can cause economic strain on a couple. I am speaking about cases with which I am familiar as representations have been made to me. I ask the Minister to address the difficulties associated with direct family member reunification, such as a spouse or minor children. Family members from outside the EU should be permitted to visit their families for a holiday or to help during times of illness or when a baby is born. Grandparents should be permitted to visit without lengthy and excessive conditions. Such people have on occasion been refused a visitor's visa. I hope the Bill will clarify the situation for people in this situation.

I refer to the limitation on the right to marry. There has been much media comment on the requirement for priests not alone to carry out the ceremony but also to check papers to ensure everything is in order. While I do not know whether it will come to that, it will be interesting to tease it out on Committee Stage because the civil ceremony is different from the church ceremony.

This area can be problematic for Irish citizens who want to marry people from outside the European economic area. They may have difficulties in obtaining the necessary permit given that they must apply to the Minister three months before the proposed ceremony. A number of these issues have been raised. While I was not in the Chamber for the start of the debate last week, I read the Minister's speech and I know he is willing to discuss the details. I am looking forward to Committee Stage where many of the issues raised here can be teased out to bring more clarity for people.

On the whole, the Bill represents an important step forward. I acknowledge the work of the Immigrant Council of Ireland, the Irish Refugee Council and others in supporting immigrants. They have evolved over the years. Many people give their services and help immigrants in a voluntary capacity, particularly in the legal profession — they do so outside office hours. I am aware of two groups working in this important area in the Cork region. The Bill will allow us to move forward so that people can approach the country for asylum, for holiday or to seek residency. I hope it will bring some clarity and resolution to what heretofore has been an ad hoc and haphazard system.

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