Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 45: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason for the Government's continued resistance to signing and ratifying the Convention on Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12994/07]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Enterprise, Trade and Employment have previously set out the Government's position in this matter in reply to previous Parliamentary Questions. The Government believes that it is not appropriate at this time for Ireland to become party to this UN Convention.

The Convention is a broad instrument covering many different fields and would require a significant commitment across Government Departments to implement legislation which would reflect the Convention's nuances on legal and illegal workers. The Convention covers such areas as authorisation to stay and to work, education, training and integration, family reunification, social security, transfer of income and taxation, housing, health and medical care and electoral matters.

My own Department is concerned that a significant portion of this UN Convention does not distinguish between legal and illegal, or documented and undocumented migrants. In effect the Convention obliges countries to provide entitlements to workers about whom they have no information and who have entered a state illegally. I would have grave concerns as to the effect of this provision on encouraging illegal immigration into this State, in spite of the perceived safeguard in Article 68. I would suggest to the Deputy that it is highly significant that no EU Member State has yet signed or ratified the Convention. Its provisions for combating illegal immigration, which effectively amount to only one article, are largely untested.

My Department is also mindful of the common travel arrangements with the UK and Ireland's position within the EU. In respect of the Common Travel Area, we would have serious concerns about entering into a largely untested international migration treaty which could have possible negative effects on illegal immigration flows between the two jurisdictions. Similarly we could not conceivably enter into a migration treaty to which none of our EU partners are party. Such an action may prejudice our position on participation in future EU migration policy initiatives, in particular those which may deal with illegal immigration.

The rights of legal migrant workers and their families are already comprehensively protected by existing legislation, the Constitution and existing international treaties to which the State is already party. I am not aware of any significant human rights deficit affecting migrant workers in Ireland which requires remedy by ratification of this UN Convention.