The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, says he will consider a call from the general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to allow asylum-seekers the right to work while their applications are being processed.
The ICTU general secretary, Mr Peter Cassells, called on the Minister to review the existing embargo because of "growing evidence of asylum-seekers being exploited in the black economy".
A spokesman for Mr O'Donoghue initially said the position of the Government remained that asylum-seekers were not allowed to work until their applications were processed. If they were given full refugee status, or allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds, then they had the same employment rights as Irish citizens. He later amended this to say that if the ICTU had specific proposals to make, the Minister would consider them.
Mr Cassells said the present situation forced asylum-seekers on to the social welfare system. Recent appeals by church leaders to welcome asylum-seekers and integrate them into Irish society deserved a more positive response from the Government.
Several trade unions, including IMPACT, which represents many of the staff in agencies dealing with asylum-seekers, have already called for a similar Government initiative. However, official sources say there are still concerns that allowing asylum-seekers to work could increase the likelihood of their exploitation because of their lack of other legal rights.