Groups such as the GAA and business and religious organisations must be encouraged to do more to integrate migrant workers into Irish society, Conor Lenihan, the State's first Minister of State with responsibility for integration, said yesterday.
He said he wanted to "prompt and encourage" business, sporting, leisure and artistic groups to take on initiatives to involve immigrants in their activities.
"Some of the bigger companies in the private sector already have pushed out the boat because they see the economic benefit and advantage of the people who are coming," he said.
"We have to look at all organisations, ranging from the GAA to the church based, religious groups, be they Islamic, be they African in origin, be they Baptist, Methodist, Catholic or Protestant." Many of these groups were already doing good work in this area "but the State needs to move in and give them more encouragement".
Mr Lenihan also expressed concern at the number of immigrants who were over qualified for the jobs they were doing. "Particularly one is struck at the situation for instance in the hospital service where people with fantastic qualifications cannot transcend and progress beyond being non-consultant hospital doctors. That's a huge issue that has to be resolved."
Mr Lenihan was speaking at the Immigration Council of Ireland office where he met with a group of immigrants from Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Moldova and listened to their concerns.
The immigration council is a non-governmental agency which provides information and support to migrants. Immigrants told Mr Lenihan of their difficulties in getting visas for family members to join them here. They outlined problems in getting work permits for spouses and talked about the obstacles in getting mortgage approval or approval for affordable housing schemes.
Immigration Council of Ireland chief executive Denise Charlton said Ireland was playing a game of "catch up" in integrating migrants.
She said two of the biggest issues that prevented the integration of migrants were the lack of certainty about their futures and the bureaucratic obstacles in reuniting families.
She welcomed the Government's commitment to develop a national integration policy, but said this could not be achieved if immigration policies were not fair and transparent.
"It's not realistic to expect a migrant to be able to effectively integrate into Irish society if they don't know how long they will be allowed to stay, if the Government repeatedly rejects their requests to have their families with them here or if they are suffering financial hardship because their spouse has been allowed to join them but denied permission to work," Ms Charlton said.
She urged the Government to consult widely with migrants and their support organisations when developing the national integration policy.
The immigration council presented the Minister with its priorities for action on immigration and integration over the next five years.
The document calls for an overhaul of the immigration system and the introduction of "a comprehensive and coherent" family reunification policy as a matter of urgency. It also calls for a national programme of English language courses for immigrants, including an introduction to Irish society.
