Brendan Ryan (Labour)

As far as I remember, they must be here for two years. It is worse than what would happen to an illegal Irish emigrant in the United States. They are entitled to nothing and end up sleeping on the streets in abject poverty.

We heard what Senator Brian Hayes has just said about the contribution immigrants make but we should look at the daft decisions the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform makes. I know of a senior researcher from outside the EU recruited to this country to head up a high powered, multi-million euro science foundation project who was told that he could come here but his spouse and children could only join him six months later because that is the rule.