Analysis:Introducing long-term residency is following a European norm, writes Ruadhán Mac Cormaic.
The philosophical thrust of the revised Immigration, Protection and Residence Bill published by Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan yesterday reflects many of the shifts taking place in migration policy across Europe.
The Bill - which is substantially very similar to the document produced by the Minister's predecessor, Michael McDowell, before the dissolution of the last Dáil - seeks to offer better conditions to the regular migrant workers the Government is looking to attract while tightening processes governing the undocumented and unsuccessful asylum applicants.
Until now there has been no legal category between that of temporary immigrant and citizen and by introducing the status of long-term resident, the Government has followed a long-established European norm. Securing this status will give holders similar access to that of Irish citizens to State-funded services and other entitlements, and will be renewable after five years.
In effect this provision gives a statutory foothold to what has been policy for some time, but it offers migrants less than comparable EU legislation. Ireland, along with Denmark and the UK, has not signed up to the EU's long-term residence directive. That document entitles migrants resident in a state for five years to receive the permit, whereas under the new Bill that decision will be at the discretion of the Minister. In most EU countries the permit is permanent, whereas under yesterday's proposals, it must be renewed every five years.
Another area where the Bill has relatively little to say is family reunification.
Ireland is the only EU state that doesn't have any primary legislation stipulating the rules for migrants (except EU nationals and refugees) who want to bring family members to live with them, and though two other member states (Denmark and the UK, again) have not signed the EU's family reunification directive, both have their own laws in this area.
Acknowledging its importance, Mr Lenihan said the issue will be dealt with through forthcoming statutory regulations.
Additional features of the Bill reflect common practice on the Continent. The requirement of foreign nationals to furnish biometric data has been adopted in many countries, while the principle of granting a period of "recovery and reflection" in the State to suspected victims of trafficking would be welcomed by support groups and bring Ireland into line with the EU standard.
The new Bill does not deal with naturalisation, but Lenihan indicated yesterday that Ireland would be following the recent trend - adopted in Britain, France, Germany among other countries - of introducing tests of language proficiency and civic education for prospective citizens.
Finally, the emphasis on the strict application of new and existing rules for some migrants reflects something broader. Prefacing comments on undocumented migrants and the asylum system, Lenihan spoke yesterday of the need to maintain public confidence in the immigration system.
"The business of managing migration to the State is about making choices. It cannot be the case that we say to everyone who wants to migrate here: 'Come on in'." He also stressed the need for quicker processing of asylum claims, the importance of deportation to a properly managed immigration regime and his opposition to amnesties.
It may be true that most migrants come from elsewhere in the EU and the numbers of asylum applicants have been falling across the continent for years. But with migration debates in many European countries having taken on an anxious, if not hostile, tone, many of Lenihan's counterparts have been keen to make the same points.