When former president, Mrs Mary Robinson, speaks out against Ireland's temporary work visas system and describes it as resembling "bonded servitude", citizens should pay close attention. It is not the first time a permit system that allows unscrupulous employers to exploit workers has been brought to the attention of the Coalition Government.
But there appears to be a deep-rooted reluctance to improve the conditions of these temporary workers, lest they become permanent. So far, the Government and the Tánaiste have resisted change although Ms Harney yesterday raised hopes of some progress on the issue.
Mrs Robinson, a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the current system must be reformed. It made workers vulnerable to all kinds of abuse because their right of residency was tied to a specific employer. Her appeal was supported by former US Congressman, Mr Bruce Morrison, who was responsible for providing 50,000 "Morrison visas" for Irish nationals when times were grim in the 1980s.
This State needs immigrants. Just as the efforts of Irish emigrants helped to build the economies of Britain and the US, so these workers have created wealth here. In the past, many Irish emigrants were rewarded with citizenship of a new country. In the same way, these workers deserve a stake in our society. By treating them as temporary rather than permanent workers we are creating long-term problems. Some will choose to return home. But the majority have come here to make a better life. They deserve fair treatment.
The situation with regard to Filipino nurses is a good example. About 5,000 now work in our healthcare system, where there is a chronic shortage of trained nurses. But, because the spouses of Filipino nurses are not automatically entitled to work visas, they have begun to leave for places like the UK and Australia where such restrictions do not apply. Their loss would be an enormous blow to hospital services, a fact which was implicitly acknowledged by Ms Harney yesterday when she said she was giving "serious consideration" to easing the work permit rules for the spouses of nurses and other highly skilled workers. She undertook to bring the matter to government early in the New Year.
Few would argue against the State's need to control inward migration. And it is true that the current rate of immigration per capita is very high. But we must see this situation as an opportunity for growth and development, rather than a burden and a source of difficulties. That requires comprehensive and thoughtful policies.