It may come as a surprise to the refugees and asylum-seekers queueing at the Application Centre in Dublin's Mount Street, or to the Romanians regularly abused for being, well, Romanian and in Ireland, but Tom Kitt thinks we should be importing lots more people from eastern and central Europe.
"It's time that we looked seriously at this issue if we are going to sustain the growth levels we have had over the last few years," the Minister of State said yesterday in Brussels. "We need a strategic plan for the future, based on the needs of the economy."
While many retail outlets have all but given up hope of filling vacancies with unskilled or semiskilled people, Mr Kitt is concerned with what he sees as a looming skills shortage.
His comments may raise eyebrows, not least because of the cruel mismatch between those he would recruit and the 1,000 refugees a month, largely unskilled, who are knocking on Ireland's door and in too many cases ending up sleeping rough on Dublin's streets.
The Minister, who is attached to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, said it was time that Forfas, the industrial policy agency, studied the skills shortages that were emerging, particularly in information technology, and looked beyond traditional labour markets to see if east Europeans might fill the gaps.
"We are now heading towards virtually full employment at 5 per cent and need to plan for the economy as a whole. It is wise and prudent that we should do so," the Minister said. "It isn't a question of replacing jobs or removing anybody from jobs. I do not see it as that kind of scenario."
The work-permit system was under pressure, he said, but working flexibly, with some 10,000 permits likely to be given out this year. One meat plant had even sought to bring in 10 meat-packers from Brazil, he said.
