New labour immigration policies will fail unless employment laws are strictly enforced, a new report published by Trinity College Dublin's Policy Institute warned yesterday.
The report, Managing the Immigration and Employment of non-EU Nationals in Ireland, said policies on deportation and border controls were likely to be "far less effective" if employers were not punished for violating immigration laws.
The report's author, Dr Martin Ruhs, said only three employers had been convicted of violating the Employment Permits Act 2003 as of February of this year.
"Without policies that minimise demand, policies aimed at minimising supply are likely to be far less effective than is possible," he said. Dr Ruhs also called for the Labour Inspectorate to play "a much stronger role" in enforcing employment regulations.
The report calls for a permanent immigration programme to give employed migrants secure permanent immigrant status without having to naturalise.
It warns that the lack of such a programme makes it difficult for Ireland to compete with other high-income countries for highly skilled workers.
The report also recommends that migrants employed on work permits be given the opportunity to freely change employers.
"This would help protect migrant workers' rights by enabling them to more easily escape unsatisfactory working conditions than is currently the case," Dr Ruhs said.
In the past year, more than 85,000 workers from the new EU member states have taken up employment in the State. The figures show no decline in recent months, with last month recording the highest number since accession.
Minister for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen said the Government would closely study the report's recommendations.
He said that the new Employment Permits Bill would give more protection to immigrant workers, while the number of Labour Inspectorate staff would soon be increased by 50 per cent.
