Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)

I do not think I was in front of you before this so the best of luck. The reality of immigration is that, at the moment in Ireland, we are building 30,000 houses. There is a huge shortage of houses. Look at the numbers of people who are coming in both through legal and illegal immigration. We are scratching our heads when people want to come to work. Let us bear in mind, we need people working. We need them in hospitals, hospitality and in all the different sectors. When employers go through that process, it is so cumbersome. It is basically stalling people from being able to produce the goods in different places because they do not have enough staff. At least they know who they are and where they came from. People have to make sure they give them a proper wage and that everything is above board.

The sad reality at the moment is that a person coming to this country is better off coming in through the illegal system. If a person comes to Ireland illegally, he or she can work after six months, whereas another person could be trying to come in for a year and still not get through the process.

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