The Civil Service should introduce employment policies similar to those adopted by An Garda Síochána in order to increase the number of foreign nationals among its ranks, according to the Minister of State with responsibility for integration, Conor Lenihan.
Mr Lenihan said the Garda had made a positive contribution to integration by removing barriers facing foreign nationals seeking to join the force, such as the Irish language requirement.
He said there was a "job of work" to be done by the Civil Service and other parts of the public sector to recruit more foreign nationals and members of ethnic minorities.
Mr Lenihan acknowledged, however, that the Garda's ethnic recruitment drive had not proven very successful, due mainly to poor English language proficiency among candidates.
He was speaking at the launch of a new taskforce on integration, which will help draw up a blueprint for dealing with issues arising from large-scale immigration into Ireland.
It is due to begin its work early next year and will have a year to draw up recommendations for the Government.
The members of the taskforce have yet to be appointed.
"There is a clear business and social case for positive and policy-driven integration and we have a unique opportunity to get it right in this country," Mr Lenihan said.
"This taskforce will ensure that any integration policy decisions made will be informed and relevant to the issues of Irish society today."
The work of the group will involve visiting areas where there are high numbers of immigrants to hear the concerns of immigrant and non-immigrant residents, as well as consulting with representative groups.
Once it completes its work, a forum will be established to continue to debate issues relating to integration over the coming years.
A key focus in helping to promote integration will be English language tuition to young and old immigrants.
He said this was vital to help create cohesive communities and ensure migrants meet their real potential.
"We're looking at what capacity there is in terms of English language tuition . . . We need to ensure we don't create a situation where third-generation immigrants still have difficulties with the language."
There would also be a focus on the needs of Irish people who are underqualified and may have difficulties finding work in a more competitive working environment.
"There are 300,000 of our own workforce who are underqualified and require further training if they are to move up the value chain," he said.
Another challenge involved ensuring migrant workers can find employment consistent with their qualifications. A host of surveys found that most immigrants are overqualified for the jobs they hold.
Despite a perception that immigration was a short-term phenomenon, it was a long-term issue which Ireland needed to get to grips with sooner rather than later, Mr Lenihan said.
Plans to establish the taskforce received a welcome from representative groups such as the Immigrant Council of Ireland.
Its founder Sr Stanislaus Kennedy said: "The integration policy should cover issues such as a national programme of English language courses, access to employment, housing, health and education and should also look at existing barriers to integration, such as policies which keep families apart."
