Ireland is the only EU state offering equal work and welfare rights to citizens of the 10 new EU members, after Britain yesterday signalled plans to restrict access to welfare benefits, write Mark Brennock, Chief Political Correspondent and Denis Staunton, European Correspondent
British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair said he would consider whether Britain's benefits system was so generous that it would attract unmanageable numbers of immigrants from the former communist countries of eastern Europe after they join on May 1st.
"We will take whatever measures are necessary to make sure that the 'pull factor' which might draw people here is closed off," he told the House of Commons yesterday.
Britain thus becomes the 14th of the 15 existing member-states to exercise their right under the accession treaties to restrict immigration from the new members for up to seven years after they join.
Last night a Government spokesman did not rule out the introduction of restrictions on welfare access here should the system be in danger of becoming overburdened.
However, so far the Government has not had concerns that this will happen and has taken the view that unrestricted access of eastern Europeans seeking work will be beneficial to the economy.
Britain's rethink comes a week after the Polish Prime Minister, Mr Leszek Miller, thanked the Taoiseach for opening the Irish labour market to his citizens.
Most EU governments have indicated they will maintain restrictions on immigration from the new members for at least two years.
Ireland, Britain, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands initially announced they would welcome workers from the new member-states from May 1st on the same basis as workers from existing member-states.
However, four of these have gone back on this position, leaving Ireland as the only member-state willing to do so.
Asked last night if a worker coming to Ireland from a new member-state after May 1st would be treated the same as a worker coming from Germany, a Government spokesman said, "Yes".
He said: "Our position is still the same. We are confident that the free movement of workers from May 1st will not cause disruption to the Irish labour market. However, we have of course retained the power on a contingency basis to impose necessary controls should there be a major disruption in the labour market."
He said the current position on the right to receive welfare benefits was that this would be the same for citizens of new member-states as for existing members.
However, he added: "If there were strong indications that the Irish welfare system would become overburdened, then it may be necessary to put in place restrictions."
Ireland issued 50,000 work permits last year, 40 per cent of them to citizens from the new member-states.
The Department of Enterprise and Employment believes the bulk of the State's labour needs will soon be fulfilled from within an enlarged EU.
Mr Blair's spokesman said yesterday London was not considering denying citizens of new EU members the right to work, but was examining ways to tighten controls of the welfare system.
Denmark now says it will only give permission to work in jobs where a tariff system of minimum salaries applies, and job-seekers from the new member-states will have no automatic access to the Danish social security system.
The Netherlands announced on January 23rd that a maximum of 22,000 workers from the new member-states would be admitted during the first year after enlargement.
Last Friday, Sweden said it would introduce restrictions to ensure that workers from the new member-states would not overburden its social welfare system.