Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for personally bringing this Bill before the House. He will have the full co-operation of all sides of the House in making the Bill law as quickly as possible. Hopefully, Committee and Report Stages will be completed next week. It is important legislation.

I commend the Minister on bringing this progressive Bill forward and am delighted to have an opportunity to speak on it. Our economic growth has been fuelled in no small part by the influx of workers from around the world. The Government's progressive strategy was demonstrated by its brave decision to allow workers from the new EU member states to live and work in Ireland. This decision has benefited not only our economy but also our society in terms of the diversity one sees in every town in the country.

I had some reservations about that policy at the time because I feared a greater influx than actually occurred. The Government made a strategic decision and I believe the new members of the European Union appreciate our gesture. It has benefited us economically and I am sure the Minister will discover, in the context of his work on trade issues, that he will face an open door in the new member states. The Government must do everything in its power to make it easier for hard working, honest people to come to Ireland and use their skills. These people come to Ireland not to sponge off our workforce but to make a better life for themselves and their families. These are qualities which I and everybody throughout the country admire.

It is interesting to reflect that what is happening now in our economy could not have been foreseen 20 years ago. At that time, Ireland was providing employees for Britain and other countries. Irish people contributed greatly to the building of Britain and the United States of America. Our work is known throughout the world. I am the youngest in a family of eight and five members of my family are working in both Britain and the United States. That is an indication of what happened to families in the 1940s and 1950s. There was huge emigration. It was a hardship for families to part. There was almost no telephone service and certainly no mobile phones. It was a difficult time for Irish families.

It is wonderful, therefore, that the Minister and the Government are giving an opportunity to people from abroad to come to Ireland and secure employment. We are reciprocating what was done for us in Britain and elsewhere. In fairness, Britain was good to our workers, although our workers were equally good for that country because they built its economy in all industrial sectors, particularly nursing, services and the car industry. In the United States, there are 40 million people of Irish descent. In every part of the United States there are Irish people who have made a major contribution to that country.

There have been a number of scandals about the under-payment of immigrant workers in Ireland. It is clear that employment rights and permits must be tailor made to suit Government policy. When workers such as the Turkish construction workers employed by Gama, to take just one example, are not receiving fair reward for the contribution they make to our economy and society, something is amiss. This Bill will resolve that problem. It will empower the workers who are essential for our sustained economic growth.

The ESRI and other organisations have pointed to the need for migrant labour to meet the workforce demands of our buoyant economy. Immigration will be essential if we are to maintain the economy while providing quality support for our increasing retired population. The existing employment permits legislation, which was introduced in 2003, has been overtaken by the massive surge in immigration. The policy of requiring employers to apply for work permits on behalf of their employees often resulted in immigrant workers feeling powerless and beholden to their employers.

This issue has been raised many times and the Minister has decided to resolve it in an intelligent way. The Department has drafted an excellent Bill and the debate on it in the Dáil was most constructive. I commend the Minister for accepting well thought out amendments that are beneficial. We are all in this situation together. It affects Ireland incorporated. Every Member of the House would prefer to have an improved situation.

The current situation is extraordinary. The employer has control over the employee. There have been many examples of people who were controlled in terms of the houses they rented and the services that were provided for them. They had no recourse to moving employment. The Bill gives them this opportunity, which tremendously empowers them.

There is great loyalty among those workers. I have seen them in Roscommon where they work in Kepak in Athleague, Hannons Poultry and other industries. They are mainly Brazilian and are highly qualified in that sector. They have made a contribution to the economy. No Irish person has complained to me that they could not get a job in those industries. This is because they are simply not interested in those jobs and are not prepared to take them.

This is also probably due to our education system. The Minister, as a former Minister for Education and Science, will recall the contribution he made to the system, particularly in primary schools with the provision of computers. Although Ireland missed the industrial revolution, it is at the cutting edge of the knowledge-based information and communications technology revolution. Our young people, the best-educated workforce in the history of State, are attracted to working in this field. Most young people go on to third level education and the Government has recognised it must develop fourth level education.

The introduction of free second level education by Donogh O'Malley was the greatest innovative policy in the history of the State. Senator Norris and I visited Kenya several weeks ago. Education is much sought after there and is provided by Irish missionaries. I was astounded that second level education must be paid for by people who are impoverished. Due to drought and the subsequent loss of cattle herds, many people cannot pay fees for secondary education. The lack of access to education is one of the reasons why Kenya and other African countries are being held back.

The introduction of free second level education, the brainchild of the Lemass Government, was an innovative policy. Before then, it was an economic burden for people to send their children to secondary school. It was an even greater burden to send children on to university. Many intelligent children were deprived due to the economic situation. Free second level education was the greatest investment by the State which is now yielding results. The economic results mean the Minister has had to introduce the Bill because Ireland needs more skilled workers than it can provide itself. One lesson that other countries can learn from our experience is that the provision of free education was the largest contributory factor to the Celtic tiger.

Abuse of the immigration system allowed groups of employers to undercut those who play by the rules. The Irish workforce stands with the best in the world. No Irish worker needs fear competition from immigrants once the playing field is level. The Employment Permits Bill will level the playing field. The Bill will stand the test of time as it is well crafted. I welcome the provision to ensure employment permits will in future be issued to the employee. The permit will state the certain rights and entitlements of the worker concerned and will prohibit an employer holding on to an employee's personal documents. The key to a fair workplace is the empowerment of employees. The Government has an admirable record when it comes to protecting workers' rights. I am pleased to see this protection extending to immigrant workers.

I want the Government to work to a position where Ireland can attract workers from all over the world, a scenario where we can fill jobs with the best people regardless from where they come. Such a scenario would benefit those born in Ireland as much as it would benefit those who, as the national anthem states, "come from a land beyond the waves, sworn to be free". In rural areas, it is difficult to attract Irish people to work in the agrifood sector. It is mainly people from abroad who now work in it. Immigrant workers have contributed greatly to dramatic changes in rural areas. The atmosphere in towns such as Roscommon has been greatly enhanced by the new workers, whether they are Polish, Latvian or Brazilian.

I note the Government's concern with workers from the new EU applicant states coming to Ireland and that the strategy must be worked out when their accession occurs. I welcome this cautious approach because there must be some form of regulation for workers coming from those states to Ireland. The skills should fit the available jobs. If, for example, there is shortage of builders, then it should be addressed first. An excess number of permits awarded for a particular skill should not be allowed.

My family has been in the stonemasonry trade for generations. Polish stonemasons now share their skills with their Irish counterparts. One can see the slight variations in stonework designs, which all adds to society. In rural areas, there is a great harmony between the Irish and immigrants. Towns, like Roscommon, are booming because of the new influx of immigrants. There was a time when none of the major supermarkets was located in Roscommon, now all the main ones are.

It is a great time to be in politics. In the 1980s when there were great economic difficulties, we took hard decisions and many politicians suffered electorally. The right decisions were made and the results are now evident. I wish the Administration great success and hope it is returned to power. Members should not care about the recent opinion poll because that was just a day in the life. When people realise they should not risk the future, they will vote the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats back into Government.