Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister to the House, and welcome his remarks generally, particularly what he said about the raft of amendments submitted by my colleague, Deputy Hogan, in the Dáil, which the Minister accepted on Report Stage. Accordingly we will be accepting the Bill at this point.

The country's immigration system has been something of a shambles and I welcome what the Minister said about providing a proper framework. Immigration is the greatest social challenge we face. We all accept we need foreign workers. We benefit from them, and our society is richer for their presence. I particularly welcome the Minister's assertion that the term "foreign national" is much more appropriate than "non-national". In any event, immigration is a challenge we must face, and please God, will do so successfully as a country.

It is worth reflecting on the statistical analysis of Mr. Aidan Punch of the Central Statistics Office, who commented that the republic's population is expected to jump from the current level of just over 4 million people to 5.5 million by 2030. He went on to say in his speech to the Magill summer school that births are projected to average around 63,300 annually, with deaths averaging 32,400, leading to an annual natural increase in population of 30,900. However, migration is projected to differ markedly from that experienced in the past. In short, we have a job to do.

Upon publication on the Bill, the Minister stated with regard to work permits that the legislation will enable the Minister every two years to set the maximum number of employment permits to be issued both in total and by sector to identify the skills and qualifications required for the grant of a permit and to identify the categories of employment which may or may not be subject to the granting of permits. That is entirely right, and we welcome the provision. I also welcome the provisions in the Bill for migrant protection. The shocking revelations at Gama and Irish Ferries — which it seems considered €1 an hour a fair and equitable wage — have become the lightning rods for criticism of a modern Irish society that increasingly knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. However, I worry that while we are creating more law, we may be doing nothing about order. We have already witnessed this year flagrant breaches of existing laws designed to protect Irish and non-Irish workers. In Gama Construction's offices in Santry in North Dublin, ingenious schemes were cooked up to pay those unfortunate workers half nothing while they built the country, and nothing was done. Not one individual has been punished for the disgraceful treatment of an Irish Ferries employee who had to go to the Labour Court to get her thoroughly deserved €25,000 compensation from Irish Ferries, whose status as the pariah of Irish industrial relations solidifies with every passing day.

Now, the Minister comes to us with more legislation but tells us little of how it will be enforced. While I broadly accept what he says, I would like to know what extra resources will be made available to the labour inspectorate and other bodies which will enforce the legislation, how the Department intends to communicate these new rights to migrant workers and how the Minister intends to co-operate with foreign embassies in ensuring these rights are translated into meaningful improvements for migrant workers upon entry to this country.

The Government does not have a good track record when it comes to cross-cutting initiatives. If it did, this Bill would have been announced as part of a package of measures promoted jointly by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Department of Education and Science and the Department of Foreign Affairs. Needless to say, one arm of Government often does not know what the other is doing. It would be good if the Minister would answer the questions I have asked.

The Minister will be aware that our international reputation took another hit last month when the Polish edition of Newsweek reported that Ireland was a "living hell" for many Poles, who arrived expecting to be able to pick and choose jobs and instead found themselves sleeping rough and living on charity. The Polish Embassy has suggested that approximately 10,000 Poles living in this country are experiencing difficulty. Astoundingly, it is not just the "pinkos", as the former Minister for Finance would have called them, who have been calling on the Government to get the lead out on this issue. No more conservative body than IBEC has been calling for a proper immigration and green card system. In incurring the wrath of CORI and IBEC, the Government seems to have mastered the art of pleasing none of the people none of the time.

This Bill must work effectively. I hope the Minister is willing to be flexible on Committee Stage. I have put down few amendments because I accept what the Minister said about amendments in the Lower House. Without foreign labour, our roads will not be built, our service industries will collapse and our way of life will suffer. I am sure the Minister accepts that. That flow of foreign labour will quickly find somewhere else to go if we gain a reputation for exploitation.

Why does the Bill make no reference to the spouses and families of the tens of thousands of workers who will be allowed to come here? This is a glaring omission. We cannot seriously hope to attract enough people of a high enough calibre if we are not willing to allow their families avail of the same rights. By failing to allow families, as opposed to individuals, apply for these green cards, we severely limit our chances of attracting quality candidates. More importantly, perhaps, we are consigning those who do not come with their families to a life of misery.

It is amazing that this opportunity has been missed. Perhaps it is symptomatic of the Government's uncaring approach to this problem — do the least amount possible for the least number. These people do not vote so there might be an attitude that they do not matter.

Nevertheless, we are broadly at one with the Minister on this issue. We will support the Bill on Second Stage. We must be up-front and honest in establishing the economic case for immigration, setting a level and establishing and enforcing a sensible, compassionate immigration policy that will allow the engine of the economy to continue to run. I sincerely hope the Minister agrees.