Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I am glad that style has not been used in this House. I am sure the Minister will hear a lot more reasoned, calm and constructive contributions on the Bill, to which I look forward. I have no intention of speaking about what should have happened as regards consultation and debate prior to the referendum. The referendum has taken place and the people have spoken and made their intentions known in a clear and emphatic manner. As a democracy, we must implement the will of the people and put legislation in place which will reflect the wishes of the electorate. The people's wishes include actively promoting integration, inclusion, protection and participation in society and a recognition and respect for cultural diversity. My party believes the Bill should be supported and we hope the Minister will address our concerns in regard to it.

We need an integrated immigration, residency and citizenship policy in place. The Minister said we have some kind of policy but we do not have a clear one. Immigration policy must be applied in accordance with human rights laws. International standards of refugee protection recognises that people fleeing from human rights violations are not always in a position to obtain proper documentation under those circumstances. I ask that asylum seekers are not penalised for not having proper documentation when their applications are being dealt with.

The fact the EU has failed to agree a comprehensive and coherent policy on immigration does not help the situation. I was a member of the EU committee of the regions and agreement was reached in Tampere in 1999 which envisaged a common asylum and immigration policy along with common border controls. I had hoped that would have been implemented by now but the process seems to have ground to a halt. Nevertheless, it is the duty of the Government to outline a clear and coherent policy, which is lacking. We have a mishmash system which gives rise to total confusion. There is no transparency and, in many instances, there is little criteria.

I echo the call of my colleague, Deputy Jim O'Keeffe, in the other House that an Oireachtas helpline be set up to assist Members. Every Member will have received representations on a number of issues. Rather than table parliamentary questions and raise issues on the Adjournment, it would be much better for the taxpayer and for everybody else if there was a specific person who we could contact to deal with our queries. I hope the Minister will deal with that matter.

I welcome the provisions in the Bill to end the passports for sale scheme, or investment based naturalisation. The abuse of this scheme, especially under the Charlie Haughey-led Fianna Fáil Government, when passports were given out like snuff at a wake and when procedures were not followed, was a disgrace and it devalued the currency of an Irish passport internationally. I, like the Minister, am glad the scheme is to be abolished. While I recognise it was beneficial in many instances from an economic point of view, the Minister is correct to end the scheme. It brought shame to the country in some cases.

I turn to the question of non-national parents of Irish born children who applied for residency on the basis of the birth of their child in this country prior to the Supreme Court decision of January 2003. I admit many of those people came to Ireland because the law, as it stood, provided the right of residency to parents of Irish citizens. The Supreme Court decision and the referendum ensures these circumstances cannot exist again. It is estimated that 11,000 people find themselves in this position. I ask that an amnesty is granted to these people granting them the right of residency. The public would not want a hard-headed approach to be taken to this situation and would want compassion and generosity to be shown to these families and their Irish children. I hope the Minister adopts a humanitarian approach to the issue.

The manner in which work permits are issued is flawed and can lead to exploitation of immigrant workers. We have all seen programmes on television about the exploitation of people. I firmly believe work permits should be issued to employees which would, at least, allow them to change their employer within a particular sector.

The economy has undergone much change recently and it has made Ireland attractive for economic migrants. Let us face it, the country needs migrant labour to sustain output and growth in our economy. These people must be viewed as a potential permanent members of our society with equal rights — perhaps just short of citizenship. They must be recognised as a great asset to the country.

The Minister mentioned students. I read recently about bogus students and institutions exploiting the student visa scheme. I hope strong action will be taken against unscrupulous operators who use this scheme to generate a lucrative income to facilitate the evasion of visa and immigration controls. I support strong action in this regard.

I hope the Minister will address the thoughts and concerns I have outlined about various aspects of the Bill. I look forward to the debate and the contributions of my colleagues. Fine Gael will be positive and constructive in the passage of the Bill through the House. We are implementing the will of the people in putting this legislation in place. I shall put down some amendments, possibly on Committee Stage, on behalf of my party. Nevertheless, the Bill deserves to be supported and my colleagues and I will provide that support.