John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I also welcome the report of the Joint Committee on European Affairs on migration. The background of the committee's report concerns the wider questions of immigration and integration, and not just economic integration. The committee acknowledges that the Government decision of 2003 to allow access to the labour market to workers from the new member states of the European Union was the correct one and has had a beneficial result.

I will deal with the general background to the report. The joint committee states that the submissions it has received to date treated immigration purely as an economic issue. It raised the question of what would happen in the event of an economic downturn and the resultant demands on the levels of social support, were migrants not to return to their countries of origin. Reference is also made to the trade off between the increasing wealth brought about by the growth of population and increased congestion, higher density of housing and higher demands on services. On the question of integration, the committee refers to the implications for health, education, anti-racism and housing arising from increased migration. Anti-racism policy demands constant vigilance and this Government is committed to it on all fronts.

The committee's primary recommendation is for clear responsibility for the support of social and economic integration of immigrants to be given to one Department. It also recommends that the designated Department should, as a matter of urgency, deal with ongoing efforts to co-ordinate information, which are crucial and should be undertaken with as much speed as possible. Irish agencies should be asked to work even more closely with the governments of countries from which immigrants come to publicise the appropriate routes for finding jobs in Ireland and to restrict the activities of unscrupulous and careless employment agencies. There should be greater co-operation and co-ordination between the bodies involved in inspecting and enforcing the range of legislation already enacted to protect workers' rights.

Officials from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment visit employers to ensure correct practices and rates of pay are applied. Judging by the report on "Prime Time" earlier this week, it is imperative we introduce legislation quickly to deal with trafficking and human slavery in 2006. It is hard to credit that human slavery continues to exist in this day and age but there are no other words to describe it. I hope the most severe penalties apply to those guilty of such offences. We take the most malign view of those who sell drugs and offer young people the means of degrading their lives. However, legislation is not currently in place to deal as severely with people traffickers as with drug traffickers. I regard both crimes as of the most serious nature.

A study should be made of the possibility of establishing networks of drop-in centres for migrants. They would have been very useful for the Irish in London and we can learn from the experience of those people we sent to the UK as to what supports are required in such a situation. We can share that knowledge with migrant countries so they can implement best policy.

The principal issue concerning EU migrant labour was highlighted as the need for ongoing co-ordination between the Department of Social and Family Affairs and the Central Statistics Office to track immigration flows. The report highlighted the role of FÁS in administering European employment services, which cover the European economic area and Switzerland, whereby vacancies must first be advertised for a period of four weeks before an application for a work permit will be entertained.

Other issues were the potential for abuse resulting from the unscrupulous practices of employment agencies, the enforcement of employment rights, greater transparency in the administration of the habitual residence conditions and the ineligibility for child benefit. The report also dealt with homelessness, migrant welfare and the feasibility of establishing drop-in centres. While EU workers are entitled to the same access to training as Irish workers, no particular measures are envisaged for them.

We in Ireland have been full and enthusiastic participants in the European project from the beginning. Freedom of workers to move from each member state to find employment is a cornerstone of the European Union. We have participated constructively in all major European initiatives, from economic and monetary union and the adoption of the euro to the opening of labour markets to new members of the European Union. Even though we are a very small country we have played an important part in the development of the EU, not least in the contributions our EU Presidencies have made to progress on key issues on the European agenda.

Inward migration is a new problem for us. It is a sign of our success in growing our economy and in creating jobs that our problems have changed from those connected with emigration to those associated with inward migration. We have experienced significant inward migration in a relatively short period. Some 9% of our workforce, or 170,000 workers, are now foreign nationals. While other EU countries have similar proportions of foreign national workers those proportions were built up over a generation, whereas we have reached that level within a couple of years, which provides us with challenges. Those from the EU-10 countries, which joined the EU in May 2004, now make up 3% of our workforce or 62,000 workers. We are aware from Revenue Commissioners data that the numbers who have worked here since May 2004 are sometimes greater, at approximately 135,000. Many will have worked here for a while before returning to their native countries.

The decision by the Government to grant immediate free access to the labour market for nationals of the new member states from May 2004 was the correct one. Workers from these countries have significantly contributed to our economic growth through a diverse range of activities and occupations. Many of them have worked in the construction sector and this has allowed us to address our infrastructure deficit more quickly than would otherwise have been possible. Many others have been engaged in the manufacturing, catering, hospitality and agricultural sectors to the benefit of both business and consumers.

I welcome the new arrangements for the labour market participation of workers from outside the European Economic Area, which will be in place at the end of this year after the Employment Permits Bill is passed by the Oireachtas. As part of these new arrangements, a new green card system will be introduced for people from outside the European Economic Area for occupations where strategic high skills shortages exist which cannot be met from within the EU. Under this system, green cards will be issued for two years initially and will normally provide a pathway for long-term or permanent residency thereafter.

This will help to address the skills deficits which are likely to persist for some time in key sectors of the economy, particularly with regard to information technology, health care and construction professionals and in the financial services, internationally-traded services and the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. It appears that we will need the contribution of foreign nationals to our economy for some time into the future. The Irish economy is projected to grow at approximately 4.6% this year and strong growth is also expected for 2007. As a result, total employment will rise by over 3% or 60,000 this year while unemployment will be at a low rate of 4.3%.

The challenges we now face are those associated with success. One of these challenges is the integration of those who have arrived from abroad to work here and to ensure they benefit from the same rights as Irish workers. Integration is a multidimensional process, as is stated in the committee's report, so we must deal with the economic and social issues that it raises in a cohesive manner. We must also be flexible in the way we respond to changes and issues as they arise.

I note the committee's recommendation that information should be co-ordinated and that there should be greater co-ordination with regard to workers' rights. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has a wide and well-established role in providing information to the workforce about entitlements under employment rights legislation. Adjudication bodies such as the rights commissioner and the Employment Appeals Tribunal are also in place to permit workers to vindicate their entitlements.

In the ongoing partnership talks, the Government has indicated it will ensure workers who have relocated to Ireland from abroad will be the subject of particular focus. A publicity campaign will also be undertaken to set out employees' rights in a number of languages, with an emphasis on workers from overseas and on the sectors in which they are employed. In addition, a specific budget will be provided for education and promotion, to be delivered in conjunction with the social partners and other civil society organisations.

The employment rights compliance section, ERCS, provides information to the public through call centres, websites and personal interactions on an individual and group basis. The information unit interacts with the labour inspectorate which, in turn, inspects or investigates with a view to attaining compliance. Failing this, the enforcement section initiates prosecutions and associated recoveries of money through the courts. The ERCS also interacts with a wide range of bodies and organisations in pursuit of its objective of employment rights compliance.

The National Economic and Social Council commissioned the International Organisation for Migration to undertake a major study on the management of migration in Ireland, including both the economic and social implications. The council is currently formulating its comments on the study and this work will be complete over the next few weeks. We welcome the council's work on this issue and, without prejudging its recommendations, hope it will help us put in place policies and programmes to deal with migration in an integrated manner in the future.

I welcome the joint committee's report. It will be a useful input on an important issue for Ireland in the future.