Billy Lawless (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Supreme Court has not called for the floodgates to be opened on an unrestricted immigration regime in Ireland. It has said that the State has an obligation to vindicate the right of asylum seekers in Ireland to have a limited opportunity for employment, rather than spending their lives in the purgatory that is direct provision.

While I applaud the Government for its willingness to put amendments of the people’s document - the Constitution - to the Irish people, including a proposal to expand the electoral franchise to emigrant voters, we must implement the provisions of the Constitution that are already in existence as well as proposing new ones. This is not just a question of vindicating the rights of asylum seekers who have entered this country, in most cases fleeing intolerable danger. It is also about fulfilling the economic requirements of this State. This country has returned to net inward migration because the economy is growing again. We already have labour shortages in certain sectors. It has been estimated that we need an additional 76,000 construction workers to meet housing demand over the next four years. We need nurses, doctors and other professionals. Inevitably, we need more workers in the service economy.

It is universally accepted, including by the Supreme Court, that certain restrictions on asylum seekers obtaining employment might be necessary to avoid the floodgate effect of Ireland being used as a soft location for people seeking to enter this country purely for economic reasons rather than on legitimate grounds of asylum. As with many other issues, the answer lies not on either side of the extremes but in the middle. This country can protect its national interests, including its economy, while at the same time demonstrating compassion and pragmatism in dealing with people who have escaped unspeakable atrocities, particularly in Syria. This morning, the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade met a delegation that included a young man from the Rohingya ethnic group in Burma. The atrocities being committed against the Rohingya people are unspeakable. I know we have 90 families here in Ireland. I ask the Minister to allow us to implement the recommendations without further delay, thereby vindicating the rights of asylum seekers in Ireland.