Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

I thank the Cathaoirleach and the Minister. Senator O'Rourke referred to Ireland as having an immigration policy. As I have said a number of times in this House, we do not have a coherent policy. It is very much a case of crisis management in that something happens and the Government usually responds in a negative manner which has led to legislation regarding carriers' liability and such like.

The discussion paper from the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform indicates there will be new legislation with regard to work permits. Legislation is put in place on an ad hoc basis, usually as a reaction to something that has happened or come to light. Similarly, last year's referendum was a negative response to our new situation in respect of people coming to Ireland, making a life here and having children.

The Labour Party is in favour of having an immigration policy. When a good policy is in place, it should be enforced. It should be an immigration policy based on a positive premise, that is comprehensively structured and well thought through. A green card system similar to that which obtains in the United States should not only be considered but should be adopted. In the United States, the authorities allow people who were not born there to achieve citizenship. However, nobody could argue that the US does not have a strict immigration system. This is the kind of system we should be examining.

Apart from the situation regarding the Gama workers, we have also encountered problems with other people on work permits who have been exploited over the years. That represents one side of the coin of our immigration policy. The other side of the coin concerns the unjust deportation of people such as the recent case of the student in Palmerstown. It has much to do with a negatively-pitched immigration policy. I welcome the fact that the Minister has introduced a discussion paper and some of the proposals mentioned in it. However, if one follows the discussion paper's logic, he may still be inclined to introduce something that is a hotchpotch of different systems. This is not what is wanted. A comprehensive system is needed that gives greater priority to the people affected by immigration policy than to the economy. We expect no less for Irish people who travel abroad and we should treat people in a similar manner when they come here. When this policy is in place, everyone will knows where he or she stands. One can enforce the policy and restrict entry to the country, but people who come here will be treated properly and will have rights.

The Minister is aware of the Labour Party proposals which we introduced many years ago. They were welcomed by different groups such as the Irish Refugee Council. The Government has been in office for eight years and it is time that it got its act together on this issue. The exploitation of people on work permits is nothing new. A couple of years ago, there was a case involving some Brazilian workers who were very badly treated and had not been paid for months. Some of them were obliged to return to Brazil without being able to find other work. We know the story about the other side of immigration policy. I have dealt with people who find it impossible to get visas for their relatives to come here. Irish citizens living here can find it impossible to bring an elderly parent to Ireland on a visa whereas it seems that work permits are handed out very easily. This again demonstrates that when the Government examines work permits and immigration policy, it prioritises the economy when it should examining workers' rights.

The system is really shown up by the following example. One of my constituents managed to get a work permit for someone to come here and do a certain type of work, but could not get that person a visitor's visa or an entry visa. The work permit then expired, by which stage that type of permit was no longer permissible. If something like that could happen, there is clearly not a joined-up policy in place regarding work permits and our immigration policy. I went to considerable effort to resolve the problem for the people concerned and got nowhere. Eventually, they gave up.

I am glad that the Government amendment has been amended by Senator O'Rourke. It had implied that all our workers are exploited. One reason it is so important to ensure that people who come here and work on work permits or otherwise are not exploited is to ensure that our own indigenous workforce is not exploited either. For example, companies may compete with other companies that exploit workers in the manner that might have been the case with Gama. What should they do? Should they cut costs and corners and pay lower wages to their staff so that they can compete in, for example, the tenders market? It is important that the Gama workers' situation is resolved, their rights are enforced by the Government and we never allow this type of situation to recur. The fact that struck and upset me most about the whole affair is that Gama was employed on contract to carry out work in my local authority area. Over the years, local authority managers and workers and managers have fought for their own rights. One would expect public sector workers, of all people, to ensure that workers' rights would be enforced. I do not make any allegations about the local authority's intentions when giving Gama the contract. However, it should ensure, as should the State, that when a contract is awarded to a company, that the workers' rights are implemented with respect to the contract and the company involved.