Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an mBille seo. Cuirim fáilte freisin roimh mhuintir na Cróite atá ag teacht isteach san Aontas Eorpach in mí Iúil. Sinn Féin recognises the benefits and achievements of the European Union. The values that founded the EU could and should underpin the values and actions of today. Those values are solidarity, equality and the mutual benefit and growth. It is on these values that the many successes of the EU have been built, from reconstruction following the Second World War, tackling discrimination, the reunification of Germany, recognising and safeguarding human rights, protecting the environment, and promoting workers' rights. The European Union has played a valued role in the reconstruction of the infrastructure of the State and played a vital role in directing funds to support the peace process in the North of the country. When it has failed to uphold these values and founding principles it has caused great problems. When it failed to uphold solidarity, equality and mutual benefit and instead upheld the interests of particular states and particular nations or sections of the economy it has let down the people of the European Union.

Recently the economic management by the European Union has not reflected equality, solidarity and mutual benefit and growth but has been sectional in who it has sought to represent. The idea of a union of nation states gathering and working together in harmony and in consensus to arrive at a better future has been corroded and replaced by a number of nations working for their own specific interests to ensure their own bondholders and own banks have been repaid, to the extreme cost of many others. Many analysts have indicated that the tensions within the European Union are far greater than they were ten years ago and that there is anger and bitterness among those on the periphery in regard to the uneven development throughout Europe. The policies of austerity pursued by the current generation of political leaders in Europe continue to cause great damage to the economies of Europe and the vast majority of the people, particularly those on the periphery. The citizens of this State continue to pay the cost of bailing out the European banks and the bondholders and will do so long after this generation of politicians in this Oireachtas plus the European technocrats have retired.

There is a need for the EU to return to its roots and core values. There is a need for a social Europe, a Europe with people at its heart. That is why we will support the Bill. Croatia has sought to join the European Union and that has been agreed. Workers from Croatia should be entitled to enjoy the same rights as workers anywhere else in the European Union. The rights to free movement should not be restricted to goods and capital. A citizen of Croatia is fully entitled to reside in this State and, if so, is fully entitled to work and contribute to our economy and society. They must be given the same protections afforded to all workers in society such as the minimum wage and the terms and conditions of employment.

There are some in the State who may fall back on xenophobia and prejudice on this matter and will decry the opening of the flood gates. However, they should focus on the need to create a truly social Europe. They should not be allowed to scaremonger that development in the future. The current policies of the EU and the approach adopted by the Government has held down growth and sustained high unemployment, leading to increased poverty and disadvantage. As a result of the Government's policies, there is net migration away from the State. In the two years that the Government has been in office, 167,000 people have left the State through emigration. We are halfway through a decade of a lost generation. It is clear from the economy of Japan that due to its policies, it experienced a complete decade of a lost generation. Unfortunately, instead of experienced net inward migration, 240 people leave the State every day.

Croatia has a small population with a labour force of only 1.78 million. Of those currently resident in the EU, 91% reside in Germany, Italy and Austria. Under EU legal provision, citizens of Croatia are entitled to be self-employed and reside in this State. It is clear that it would be wrong if they were not to enjoy the same guarantees and protections as workers in the State. To make a half provision for Croatian workers would undermine their integration in the State. In the past two decades we have witnessed an enormous number of new Irish enter the country, many of whom are still on the edges of society. The State machinery which is necessary to integrate them into Irish society has been weak and has been weakened further through the policies of austerity of the Government.

Tomorrow a number of organisations will come to Leinster House and I hope that the Minister of State might be able to meet them. Cultúr is one of the organisations attending. It has been designed to help migrants integrate fully into society and the workforce but it faces funding challenges at present. I would love if the Minister of State, Deputy Perry, could attend the presentation tomorrow in the audiovisual room in Leinster House to hear from individuals who work with migrants.

It is important to examine the experience of Irish people abroad. Tens of thousands of Irish people have emigrated to the United States over recent decades and they are not afforded the right to work if they do not meet the necessary visa requirements and many of them have been caught in a trap. Members will know of individuals who have worked in the United States without the protection of labour law and do not get to contribute to the state through taxation. Many of them cannot travel home to Ireland on visits even in cases where there is an emergency at home such as a funeral.

These Irish people work in an environment that allows for exploitation. We cannot and should not push any workers, including Croatian workers, into a legal grey area in which they can reside and be self-employed but cannot take on formal work. That makes no sense and is wrong. My party supports the legislation ós rud gur sin an rud ceart le déanamh le haghaidh gach oibrí a bheidh ag obair sa tír seo. It is right to ensure that Croatian workers have the full protection of legislation, that they are free from exploitation and can contribute fully to the economy. Their skills can help to drive the economy forward and enrich society. Croatian workers, although small in number, will add to our nation.

The legislation, like much other legislation in the State, has identified an anomaly between the North and South, and the previous speaker alluded to it earlier. Westminster will seek to have a different regime in Britain and the Six Counties of the North. At present, the control of immigration is not a devolved power but is retained by Westminster and is shaped to meet the needs of the British economy and British political system. It is led by the Tory Party which has no representation in the North of Ireland, having been rejected at general elections held there.

Differing approaches to immigration and workers' rights in the North and South on an island of this size makes no sense. We have an all-Ireland labour market that should not be contained by an arbitrary line on a map. The British Government has at this point made it clear that it will introduce restrictions on the employment of Croatian workers. Not only is that wrong but it creates major difficulties in the Irish context. Will a Croatian worker based in Dundalk be able to work for a company in Newry, six miles up the road? Will a Croatian living in Derry be able to find work in Lifford but not Strabane? On an island with a population of six million there should only be one immigration policy. Right now we are clever enough to have an all-Ireland policy and regulations for livestock but we will have different regulations on workers' rights on the island. I hope the Government will raise the issue with the British Government and stress the need to devolve such powers to the North to allow for the development and implementation of an all-Ireland approach to immigration.

The EU has provided many benefits for its members. It has delivered much in terms of workers' rights and created an enormous amount of growth. My party has been strongly critical of the EU's recent change of direction to a more centralised large country decision-making process and also to a marriage with austerity that has led to severe economic pain across the EU. My party has been critical for the purpose of trying to change those economic policies and creating a more social and equal Europe. Despite what the Government may claim, the policy of austerity has failed and has especially failed the economy.

The EU cannot solely be about the movement of capital and trade. It must be about the people. It is clear that Croatia has sought to join and this has been agreed. It is clear that we must afford Croatian workers full safeguards and protections in future. We support the legislation because it is the just thing to do for workers in this State as it will help prevent a two-tier experience for workers and ensure they compete against and work with other workers on the same level and not in a black market. The provision should be extended to the North of Ireland and I hope the Government will raise the matter at the next opportunity.

See this speech in context