THE GOVERNMENT is to make more than 200 of its own amendments to the controversial Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill, The Irish Timeshas learned.
The amendments, which were drafted after a series of meetings between officials from the Department of Justice and the Office of Integration, include the removal of a requirement for residents from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to seek the Minister for Justice's permission to marry.
Officials have agreed that aspects of the proposed law could damage Ireland's ability to attract and retain skilled migrants, and many of the changes aim to make the immigration regime more attractive to those who are legally resident here.
One change will allow for multiple re-entry visas to be issued to 60,000 resident foreigners who currently have to apply for a re-entry visa each time they leave the State.
Following criticism from the Human Rights Commission and lobby groups over the decision not to set out in law the principles governing family reunification, where critics say procedures are unclear and laborious, it is understood the Minister for Justice will make a statement in the coming weeks setting out the criteria that must be met by immigrants who wish to bring family members to Ireland.
The move comes amid reports that some skilled migrants, including Filipino nurses, are moving from Ireland to other western states, and aims to reassure legally-resident migrants that their immediate family will be entitled to join them here.
Civil servants are studying the Canadian reunion model, which allows permanent residents to sponsor a spouse, partner, dependent child or other eligible relative (such as a parent or, in some cases, grandparent) to become a permanent resident.
The majority of the Government's amendments are aimed at non-EEA citizens with legal residence, but there is less willingness to change provisions on asylum, which have been the focus of many of the Bill's critics.
The UN's refugee agency has identified 76 areas, ranging from access to the State for asylum seekers to the use of detention and the assessment of asylum claims, which it is concerned fall short of international standards.
In its observations on the Bill, the Human Rights Commission also suggested changes in areas such as the protection of victims of trafficking, access to judicial review and the detention of asylum applicants, so that the State can meet its obligations under international treaties it has ratified.
Minister for Integration Conor Lenihan said last week that Ireland would have to "fight hard" to retain migrants at a time of global competition for skilled workers.
Writing in Metro Éireann, Mr Lenihan continued: "For this reason, the Immigration Bill currently going through the Dáil will need to be amended, and in a fashion that explicitly makes us more attractive to immigrants.
"The bureaucracy of the past needs to be swept aside and our laws made easier for migrants to negotiate, if they can establish a good reason for living in Ireland."