Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

Like other Deputies, I am delighted to have an opportunity to make a few comments on the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2008. Those who have spoken so far in this debate, including the previous speaker, have been generally well informed. I acknowledge the work done in this area by Deputy Coveney in Ireland and internationally. He has a deep understanding of this problem on a global basis.

This legislation establishes a new system of managing and tracking people entering the country. It deals with all non-EU entrants to the State, including visitors, holidaymakers, people coming to work here and asylum seekers. It relates mainly to those who are unlawfully in the State. Many of the people who come to my constituency clinic in Tralee every Monday evening have problems with their status in this country. Those who are in Ireland legally are concerned about the extension of work permits. Those who are here as asylum seekers raise issues relating to their applications. There is a lack of clarity in this area. People are confused about their rights. They sometimes find it difficult to access services at national level. I will speak about this aspect of the immigration issue later in my contribution.

The immigration division of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform needs to be resourced better and to be more accessible to people. People who have come to this country, including legal immigrants and asylum seekers, should have more access to information and services. I will refer to a few specific cases later in this speech. If we are to have a proper immigration policy in this country, and if it is to be implemented properly, additional backup services will have to be provided. There is no point in having legislation unless sufficient personnel are available to implement it. Those who need to access their rights under the legislation should be able to do so.

I wish to speak about legal immigration into this country. The statistics that have been provided for the last four years show that fewer people are coming here to work. Some 23,604 work permits were issued in 2007, compared to approximately 27,000 permits in 2005. There has been a reduction of almost 4,000. We must consider this matter carefully.

People involved in the hospitality industry have told me they are encountering major difficulties in getting work permits for people from China. Many people from that country work in the hospitality sector. If restaurants are to offer an authentic Chinese cuisine experience, they need to employ Chinese chefs and cooks. I know people who are experiencing great difficulty in getting Chinese workers into this country. That has implications not only for business, but also for the tourism sector. When people come to this country, they like to have choices. If they choose to eat Chinese food, they want to have the genuine product. Qualified people are needed to provide that product. Similar problems are being encountered by those running Indian restaurants.

Many people from India come to Ireland to work in the science and technology sector. People involved in the sector have told me about the problems they are facing. I understand that a substantial number of permits have been issued to people whose country of origin is India. In 2007 more than 4,000 Indians travelled to the State, which is a large increase on the previous year when 2,166 travelled. People who have visited India say there is great interest in Ireland there, which is due to the number of trade missions to India, which the Ceann Comhairle and others participated in over the past few years. More technicians are needed in the IT industry, which is falling behind. It is not as competitive internationally. With a more flexible approach, more engineers could be attracted from countries such as India.

I refer to the issue of asylum seekers. I am in constant contact with the staff of the local refugee office in Tralee, which provides a good service to refugees, mainly on a voluntary basis. Many of their concerns have been raised by previous speakers and they are influenced by the issues presented to the Minister by the Irish Refugee Council. I promised the head of the office I would put on record his staff's concern. The protection of suspected victims of trafficking is not as great an issue in Tralee compared with Dublin and other large urban centres but they welcome the inclusion of the section in this regard. Their view reflects that of the Irish Refugee Council, which is that provision needs to be further developed to facilitate the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and the UN trafficking protocol. In particular, specific provisions relating to the protection of suspected trafficked children and the entitlements of those granted temporary residency should be added. I am sure the Minister will take those concerns into account. People who are trafficked should also be exempt from the pre-removal powers of detention provided for in the legislation. An explicit recognition of the right of a person who has been trafficked to seek international protection and to have access to free legal aid should be included. These calls on the Minister were also made earlier.

Regarding the protection for separated children, I have come across a few cases. Those working with refugees are generally disappointed that no new provisions have been included to improve protection for separated children, given the concerns about the shortcomings of the current system, outlined in many of their previous submissions and also in a recent report on child protection. Separated children are entitled to protection and measures should be put in place to improve identification, age assessment, registration, family tracing and issues such as treatment and care. In their view, a specific new provision is needed in line with Ireland's obligation under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to address comprehensively these issues and provide for the granting of long-term residency where it is deemed to be in a separated child's best interest.

They are also concerned about the increased powers of detention in the Bill, which provides that persons can be detained at every stage of the protection process. I recognise this measure's importance in cases where people come to Ireland and involve themselves in criminal activity but those who have lobbied me feel this provision could be applied to anyone involved in the protection process and clarity is needed. There is a general welcome for the principle of a single decision process for all forms of protection to access claims for asylum and subsidiary protection but there are concerns about the current process, including the lack of just guidelines and the use of accelerated procedures. Clarity in this regard will be important when this Bill is enacted.

Many carriers have raised the issue of liability in the media recently, which the Minister might refer to when he replies. Carrier liability shifts responsibility for protection decisions from the State to carriers. Carrier sanctions will mean those seeking protection may be prevented from accessing the State in breach of the State's obligation under the 1951 convention. This may well have the effect of forcing persons to rely on traffickers and smugglers. At a minimum, the State should allow for an asylum protection related defence to carrier liability and exempt carriers where persons make protection applications upon arrival in Dublin or where persons are particularly vulnerable. I ask the Minister to address this when he replies.

These issues have been raised by my local refugee office and we were also well briefed by the Immigrant Council of Ireland, which has a number of issues with the Bill, which the Minister will address. I refer to the lack of staffing in the Department's immigration division. I am dealing with the case of an individual who applied for long-term residency in November 2006. He had been in the State legally for five years. He had a work permit but to ensure he could secure the jobs he wanted and freedom of movement between jobs, he applied for long-term residency. He was also going out with a neighbour of mine, which is how the case came to my attention. He was advised when he made his application that his case would be examined within six months. However, he was recently advised it could take another 15 months. Will the Minister address the issue of long-term residency and visas? Prior to Christmas, I contacted an official in the immigration division who said it was hoped new staff would be recruited and applications expedited but, apparently, that has not happened. It is my understanding 20% of the staffing requirement has not been replaced in the office. If this is a reflection of what is happening regarding long-term residency applications, it is very unfair. If this person leaves the country, he may not be permitted to return and, therefore, he is afraid to travel to visit his family. I am involved in a number of other cases where people are afraid to leave the State. Under the legislation, if somebody remains in the State without a work permit, his or her long-term residency application could be affected. If his or her work permit expired, he or she would be illegally in the State and would not qualify for long-term residency. This Bill would make it illegal for them to remain, which will create difficulties for many of them.

I am acquainted with a Russian woman who is married to an Irish citizen and has a young family. She legally resides in Ireland and her aging parents who live in Russia are anxious to come to Ireland for a period of time but because they are not EU citizens, they cannot do so. I do not know whether this Bill addresses such issues. The response I received to inquiries to the Irish embassy in Moscow was that the application was refused because current Irish immigration legislation makes no provision for residency visas for parents, siblings or other extended family members of an Irish, EU or third country resident. The embassy stated that residency-type visas are only granted to spouses and dependent children of Irish and EU qualifying third country nationals, those on employment visas or certain eligible categories of student visas. The Bill should allow for a certain degree of discretion in such cases. I will forward details of the case to the Minister. People should have the opportunity to remain here for a period of time longer than three weeks. Apparently, that is not permissible under existing legislation.

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