Government must ensure Irish not `done out of a job'

The Government had to ensure "Irish nationals are not being done out of a job", the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, told the Dail.

She said 6,100 work permits had been issued by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment since last October. In the same period in 1998 4,200 permits were issued.

Ms Harney said situations had arisen "where almost no effort was made to employ Irish staff and an effort was made to bring in non-national staff and pay them a great deal less than might have been paid to Irish employees".

The Minister was responding during Enterprise, Trade and Employment Questions to Fine Gael's deputy leader, Ms Nora Owen, who asked if there was a "quota" of permits in place for employers.

She also said the average waiting time for a permit was eight weeks, and most people ringing the work permit section of the Department "get an answering machine every time".

There are nine full-time and three part-time staff involved in issuing work permits, and she planned to reduce the waiting time ultimately to one to two weeks.