Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this legislation, which gives effect to the accession to the EU of Croatia. Over the past two days, I had the opportunity to attend the COSAC meeting hosted by this Parliament in Dublin Castle, which was attended by the Ceann Comhairle who made a fine contribution to the workings of that event. The importance of the continued enlargement of the EU was very clear to those of us who are members of the Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs and who attend the various events around Europe associated with the continuation of that European project. The next phase of that enlargement is the accession of Croatia. Indeed, other countries at the meeting hold a status that will ultimately see them become members of the EU as they go through the various chapters of the east central Europe, ECE, region and reach the standard set for accession to the EU.

It is right and fitting that we continue to encourage those countries to work on the reorganisation of their economies and democracies and in addressing fraudulent activity that is endemic in some countries. We must give them encouragement to want to become part of the EU. A key part of that is showing that member states put no restrictions on membership. The EU has become important for many because it allows the free movement of people, goods and capital. If we at the outset were to start restricting in any way access to our labour market, it would send a very negative signal. I am struck by the level of negativity that exists among the population of our nearest neighbour, the kind of dialogue emerging there, particularly fronted by UKIP, and UKIP's efforts to depict the enlargement of the Union as a negative impact on the economies of member states. From the outset the founding fathers of the EU recognised the importance of sharing and pooling sovereignty to ensure that Europe was not just an economic powerhouse but the best potential for ensuring that the issues that divided the states of the EU for so long would no longer be part of the future. This is why some of the politicking from those who seek to use immigration as a platform for political success does far more damage to their own countries and citizens than they might like. It is why it is important for us to open our labour market at the outset to people from those countries which want to become good Europeans and participate in the EU.

As the Minister of State noted, the Bill is part of the integration of Croatia into the EU and is fully supported by Fianna Fáil and others in this House. The liberation of eastern Europe was one of the most momentous events of the 20th century. All former Communist countries should have an opportunity to share in the freedom and opportunities that membership of the EU brings. This includes access to labour markets. Ireland has had a very good relationships with Croatia, which first applied for candidate status during Ireland's last Presidency in 2004. There has been ongoing dialogue between parliamentarians, successive governments and elements of civil society. There is a Croatian community here, albeit a small one, that has business links and links through the various chambers of commerce. We have had some very good ambassadors from Croatia who have worked to develop a knowledge and understanding of how Ireland participates in the EU and who would admit they have gained a lot of knowledge that has assisted them in reaching the standard required to be a member of the EU.

All of this has not come without pain for Croatia. I have had the opportunity to visit Croatia on a number of occasions. The difficulties it has had in changing public service employment and support for the shipbuilding industry, which had be to de-leveraged from state ownership to join the Union and open up the market, are very clear. The changes did not come without a price. Unemployment has risen from about 14%, which is around the level here, to about 21%. It is very clear that Croatia has taken very significant steps that have impacted in the short term on its economy to reach the standard required to join the Union. Obviously, we wish Croatia well in that regard.

We must resist the scare-mongering about the impact of opening up our labour markets to additional accession countries. Erroneous assumptions regarding migrant intentions and behaviour must be challenged and we should see open labour markets as mutually beneficial for all EU states. I often think of the presence of so many nationalities in this country who perform such an important function in supporting the foreign direct investment that comes here. It is not just because we are an English-speaking country and have access to European markets that global leaders in the technology sector base their headquarters for Europe and further afield here. If we were to take a very negative position regarding encouraging people of other nationalities with their respective languages to come to work and live here, we would not be as attractive to the large multinationals. One sees the ongoing work in companies like Google and Facebook. The multiplicity of citizens from various countries who work in these companies are able to localise technologies and information for their respective markets. It is all being done here so if somebody thinks the potential for a relatively small number of Croats to come to live and work here is a negative, I would challenge that and say it is quite the opposite. It makes Ireland an attractive proposition for the further reception of foreign investment and the headquarters of those companies which form such an important part of our economy. In any case, under the EU residence directive, Croats would have the right to study, work as self-employed persons or establish businesses here. The Minister of State already mentioned that. Restricting the right to employment to someone who can work in a self-employed capacity will increase the potential for undeclared work.

After the Second World War Croatia became a single-party socialist federal unit of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ruled by the communists, although it enjoyed a degree of autonomy within that federation. Croatia is, as the Minister of State noted, the second former member of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to join the EU after Slovenia joined in 2004. Again, I had the opportunity to talk to some Slovenians over the past few days. The benefits to them have been enormous and the same benefits will accrue to Croatia. Under the treaty of accession, member states can choose to restrict the right of migrants to work in a particular sector for a two-year period. Following a review, this can be extended for a further three years. I am very pleased that the Government has decided not to use that provision. I welcome the Minister of State's decision in April to open up the Irish labour market for Croatian nationals upon Croatia's accession at the end of this month or the beginning of next month. The size of the Croatian labour force is relatively small, at about 1.78 million people with some 350,000 people in the 25-34 cohort.

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