Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister of State has said, we would have sympathy with what is being proposed in this amendment. I very much take the comments on board. However, we need to be very careful about the distinction between a right to work and an obligation to work. I am very conscious that in some jurisdictions, migrants' rights to security, unemployment benefits and other benefits such as health, education and so forth are tied to the obligation to work. We need to be very clear on what we are talking about in terms of giving people a right to be part of a workforce.

In the interim period between bringing about the type of system the Minister of State has indicated he would like and the position we have at the moment, we need to put a lot of effort into building the capacity of migrants who come into this country, not just of those who are currently in the system and have been for many years, which is obviously a very clear position, but also of those who will arrive in the next few years. It is very important that we acknowledge and build on their capacity. We must work hard to ensure that they do not find themselves in low-paid, insecure work but that they find the kind of work they have been trained to do in their countries of origin. This must be an absolute priority for Members.