John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This has been a very interesting and informative debate and I thank Deputies for their comments. From a business point of view, this is the right thing to do, as well as from the viewpoint of international friendship. I recently went to Zagreb and there are tremendous business opportunities for SMEs. There are many similarities between the sectors in Croatia and Ireland. The Croatian economy is driven by the SME sector so there are great opportunities for Irish SMEs to do business in Croatia. Companies in Croatia want to internationalise. No doubt they have met Enterprise Ireland and are looking at levels of co-operation. With Ireland being an export-led economy, we can benefit from accession.

It is appropriate at this point to revisit the purpose of the Bill. On 30 April, the Government, having considered to the EU accession of Croatia, agreed to permit access to Irish labour markets for Croatian nationals upon accession to the EU on 1 July 2013. This decision requires a legislative amendment to the Employment Permit Act 2003 and the Government, in reaching the decision to open access to Ireland's labour market for Croatian nationals, considered analysis conducted by Forfás and the Department. The Government is confident Croatian entry to the EU is unlikely to have a significant distortionary impact on the Irish labour market. The decision will mitigate the increased risk of undeclared work, which results in untaxed income and the displacement of legitimate employees through undercutting and will do much to maintain and develop Ireland's already excellent relationship with Croatia.

I thank Deputies Timmy Dooley, Peadar Tóibín, Finian McGrath and Mick Wallace for their contributions and agree with the point made by Deputy Dooley on the importance of maintaining Ireland's relationship with Croatia. At a series of recent meetings with the Tánaiste and the Minister of State, Deputy Creighton, the Croatian Deputy Prime Minister welcomed the Government decision to open the labour market to Croatian nationals. That reflects a significant level of co-operation.

Deputies Tóibín and McGrath pointed out that Britain will impose transitional arrangements and this position reflects political considerations. In addition, any decision taken by the British must take into account the fact that transitional arrangements remain in place for Romanian and Bulgarian nationals until the end of 2013. Equally, Germany and Austria are likely to introduce transitional employment arrangements and these decisions are influenced by the fact that Germany accounts for 68% of Croatian nationals resident in the EU, with Austria accounting for 16%. Germany has indicated, however, that it is likely to provide for favourable measures for those Croatian nationals who are highly skilled and Ireland must compete with other countries for those highly skilled migrants. It is worth noting that Italy, which is ranked highest destination country for Croatians, has already opened its labour markets to Croatia and the majority of Croatian workers in Italy are cross-borders workers.

I welcome Deputies' comments and agree that we are adopting a position that sends a strong message of solidarity across the EU.

Deputy Mick Wallace made a number of good points on multiculturalism, the importance of exchange and opportunities for business. The European Union is a free market which is open for trade. Many of those from eastern Europe who have come to Ireland are working effectively and doing an excellent job. I concur with the Deputy's comments in this regard.

The accession of Croatia to the European Union will give Irish business people an excellent opportunity to establish businesses in Croatia. Not only is it the right thing to do, it is a win-win scenario for the Irish and Croatian economies. Further, it will create another friendship for Ireland internationally, it has few risks and it will be good for tourism. During my trip to Croatia, I met representatives of a number of Croatian companies which are anxious to develop business opportunities. They view Ireland's expertise in developing export-led growth as a unique opportunity.

I thank Deputies for their constructive contributions to this debate.

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