Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

As ever, I am in the Cathaoirleach's capable hands. It is important to ascertain what is outstanding regarding the people in question.

In response to a parliamentary question by my colleague, Deputy Pat Breen, the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Killeen, informed us that there are 17.5 labour inspectors in the inspectorate. He stated one was on long-term sick leave and that a job-sharing inspector is on extended unpaid leave. Two inspectors are currently engaged in assisting the Employment Appeals Tribunal. The Minister of State also said there are currently 600 cases under investigation. That is a disgrace. It is yet another example of the sheer inability of the Department and Government to plan ahead.

Over the past ten years, there has been an explosion in the numbers at work and an explosion in the numbers coming to Ireland to work. What does it take for action before a problem arises? Is it the job of Government to put out fires as they spread or is it to stop them happening in the first place? Good, proper industrial relations are vital to our economic future and if Ireland gets a reputation for shabby treatment of its migrant workers, we can kiss that future goodbye.

The country should be up-front and honest about the need for immigration, the benefits it can bring and the repercussions of not welcoming it. It is a simple fact that Ireland will need to import the skills needed to ensure that it remains a world-class player. Goodbody stockbrokers recently said the economy has the potential to post cumulative growth of 45% between now and 2016, with the performance to be fuelled by immigration. Growth of this magnitude would see Ireland expanding at more than twice the rate of the average eurozone economy over the next decade. Against that background, we have the absurd farce of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform deporting and then bringing back leaving certificate students and of construction companies paying migrant workers a euro an hour to build this country.

It may be politically astute to give the nod to the more base instincts of some members of the electorate, but it is foolish to believe the economy can survive without a flow of migrant labour to staff the service and construction industries.

In order to attract migrant workers and keep them here we need to ensure their welfare is protected. Provision of information in the languages of those who work for us is a basic requirement. The website of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment provides information booklets on workers' rights in Chinese, Czech, English, Hungarian, Irish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian and Russian. While this is a welcome development there may not be staff available to speak to people in these languages. I do not propose that a fleet of linguistic professionals sit in offices all day awaiting phone calls from disgruntled builders but it might be worth ensuring a reasonable level of service in these languages is available in the Department.

This debate is framed by the lack of any Government policy on immigration. We should establish the economic case for immigration, set a level and establish and enforce a sensible, compassionate immigration policy that will continue to drive the engine of the economy.

It is essential to reduce waiting times for the assessment of applications to allow people work and contribute to their new society, thereby avoid consigning them to the human scrap heap until some official finds time to process their applications.

In its latest quarterly report, the Economic and Social Research Institute predicted a growth in the economy of 5.7% this year and a similar figure next year, and argued that immigrants should be given the fullest opportunity to contribute to the economy. Research has shown that immigrants in Ireland do not use their educational and other qualifications to their full potential, with many holding jobs for which they are overqualified.

It is time to acknowledge the economic imperative and moral duty for us to accept immigrants. The ESRI paints a picture of teachers, doctors and lawyers who arrive here hoping to improve their lot but whose expertise is not recognised and valued. This is both wrong and wasteful.

I implore the Government to establish a proper immigration system that takes into account skills shortages and the net benefit of inward migration, and upholds our commitments as a wealthy, economically-advanced nation. This is one of the most pressing social and economic problems we face.

Some nasty people have nasty opinions about the merit of foreign workers in Ireland.