Highly-skilled migrant workers will be granted a ‘green card’ from this Autumn if they meet certain requirements, it was announced today.
The Employment Permits Bill 2005, revealed today by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheal Martin, will also grant migrant workers possession of their own permit which will outline that a worker can apply for a new permit through another employer and that he/she is entitled to the minimum wage.
The permit will have a description of the employment, remuneration and deductions, while ensuring that costs of recruitment are not deducted from the worker’s wages by the employer and that all personal documents are made available to the worker.
Penalties for a breach of these regulations by employers, could result in a maximum fine of €50,000, or up to five years in prison.
Under the new legislation, Mr Martin can grant ‘green cards’ for a defined period of time to highly skilled workers from the non-European Economic Area.
In the granting of work permits, the minister will identify sectors of employment that are in need of labour before issuing them accordingly. He will also set the maximum number of permits granted in total and per sector.
Mr Martin will be aided by Forfas and the Expert Group for Future Skills Needs before a paper, outlining the requirements of each sector, is published by the department in the Autumn. The Bill is then expected to be implemented.
Introducing the Bill, Mr Martin said that while he was "satisfied that the vast majority of employees are well treated", the new legislation will "advance the situation significantly" and offer more protection to migrant workers.
There are currently 137,000 non-nationals working in Ireland, representing seven per cent of the workforce.
"The success of Ireland’s economy in recent years has been underpinned by the attraction to Ireland of significant numbers of non-EEA workers," said Mr Martin. "In order to sustain this economic success, we must ensure that labour and skill shortages in the economy are met.
"The Employment Permits Bill 2005 aims to achieve this end , by placing policy and administration of Ireland’s economic migration policy on a legislative basis, providing a more effective system of migration, and by providing greater protection for migrant workers."
However the Bill does not outline the procedures for ‘green card’ workers who are being mistreated, and gives little provision for them to find alternative employment if that is the case, according to Fine Gael spokesperson for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Phil Hogan.
"Will they be able to seek alternative employment, or spend a period of time unemployed, or will they be forced to leave the country? The Bill also does nothing to clarify the confusion surrounding the rights of foreign workers to bring their families to Ireland," Mr Hogan said in a statement this afternoon.
"Furthermore, this Bill only deals with immigration from an economic perspective, and reveals the gaping holes in the Government’s policy on immigration," he added. "There is still no indication of when, or how, the asylum process will be speeded up or whether the Government will make any effort to help foreign nationals to integrate into Irish society."
While welcoming the Bill The Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI) expressed some concern over the lack of a "clear path" to citizenship and provision for spouses and partners.
Speaking this afternoon, CCI's Head of Research and Public Affairs Seán Murphy said: "CCI strongly supports the thrust of this bill as a step in the right direction. However, Ireland is in a worldwide race for talent and this bill fails to address two of the key impediments to attracting skilled migrant workers."
"The option for permanent residency, which is one of the most attractive elements of the US Green Card, should be an integral part of the new Irish system. This is necessary if we are to recruit talented workers to Ireland to ensure that they fully participate in Irish society as well as its economy," he continuing.
"Furthermore," he added, "CCI's most recent Labour Force Survey identified difficulties in obtaining working visas for spouses as one of the key barriers to attracting and retaining highly skilled non-national workers in Ireland. Therefore, this legislation should allow for the automatic provision of working visas for spouses."
