Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

To revert to the Bill, section 2(2) addresses the rights of family members of Croatian nationals. This is an important section because one must understand the importance of family. It is all very well for someone to come to Ireland with a particular skill but such people must have rights here and their families and spouses also must have the right to be respected. Members have witnessed so many horrific cases in this regard and I heard of one case last week in which the State is attempting to deport a man from a violent country in crisis in Africa. There was a big hoo-ha at Dublin Airport but, eventually, I understand the deportation of the man was halted through the intervention of Deputy Mathews. In respect of such issues, it is important that families be kept together.

However, to return to Croatia, Members are aware from their geography and history books that Croatia has a population of 4.5 million, of which 86% are aged between 15 and 64. As I stated previously, the labour force comprises approximately 1.7 million people and its unemployment rate is approximately 18%, which is considerably higher than that in Ireland or Britain. An estimated 9,000 Croatian nationals live in Britain at present, while approximately 750,000 live in other countries. The number of Croatians who are resident in Britain only equates to approximately 5% of those who live in Germany, where I understand 245,000 Croatians reside. When one considers the skills that people from Croatia could bring to the State, the three principal spoken foreign languages for Croatian nationals are English, German and Italian, which are spoken by 49%, 39% and 14%, respectively. Already, one can observe the international situation and how languages have become both a means of communication between peoples and a significant potential for job creation, particularly in Ireland, as many different nationalities want to even up their game and bring business to this country to learn English, in order that they can get ready to deal with the international markets. Consequently, it is important to deal with this issue.

In conclusion, I strongly support this legislation. It pertains to dealing with neighbours and colleagues and treating them with respect. Importantly, it also is about treating the citizens of Croatia and Ireland with dignity and respecting human rights properly.

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