When seven Pakistani businessmen spent the first three nights of a business trip here last month as guests of the State in Mountjoy jail, a Galway recruitment consultant sighed in resignation.

Here was another blow for Ireland's reputation as a modern European state.

Mr Colman Collins of Collins McNicholas believes that more flexibility, tolerance and openness are essential if this economy is to survive, let alone thrive. "Those men are obviously investors here. But you take this current labour shortage and our attitude to immigration. If employers think - and many do - that this is a temporary difficulty, they are in trouble.

"For an economy to be fuelled, you need bodies to stoke the engine," he says. "We have to face up to the reality of a multi-cultured society and welcome it as a positive change."

So he believes that skilled asylum seekers should not face such difficulties in terms of eventual employment here, given the severe shortages of personnel in certain sectors.

Finding people to ease those shortages is his business, but he also holds firm views on that. He is, he says, working with a "disreputable" industry. "I'm very proud to be involved, but I don't feel that recruitment is generally held in high esteem, and rightly so."

It is 10 years since he set up the company in Galway with his partner, Ms Val McNicholas, and they now employ 45, with offices in Sligo and Athlone. Both are former human resource managers.

Collins came to Galway to work for Thermoking and moved to Nortel, while McNicholas was with Wang. They believe this background gives them an unusual and invaluable insight into the view of the recruitment industry from the human resource executive's perspective.

Recent claims of sharp practice adopted by several recruitment agencies may have foundation, in his view. "There are very limited barriers to entry into this business, and there is no effective monitoring of the professionalism of recruitment agencies," he says. Employers and candidates have no complaints mechanism, and many candidates, especially those younger and less experienced, contribute to the problem by indiscriminately registering with a number of agencies, he states.

Poaching of clients for a new employer several months after they have been placed, and sending out CVs without approval are some of the practices now common within the sector, he says. He is aware of one case where a candidate's CV was sent to her employer - without her approval, obviously. The Irish Federation of Personnel Services, now renamed as the National Recruitment Federation, comprises member companies that do advise on best practice. "But some of the worst offenders are also members of this organisation," Mr Collins says.

He has been involved in lobbying the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and maintains that its employment agency section should be given a more substantial role. Licences should be withdrawn where there is proof of malpractice, he believes.

"IBEC and the Irish Software Association are among those bodies that have expressed support for this."

His company endeavours to form partnership arrangements with employers, and he believes that companies have a responsibility to help the recruitment industry "clean up its act". Companies seeking additional staff should not be tempted to adopt a first past the post approach to submission of suitable CVs, if some of these agencies have not been given the candidate's permission, he says.

Younger people who are desperate to find a job must also place greater value on their skills - and on their CV, he says. This is now a candidate driven market, not an employer driven market. Ten years ago, people wanted to work with the well-known brand name in their area, but now they are far more discerning than that, and can afford to be.

Childcare is one issue that employers will have to face. "Too many employers are slow to recognise that the nine-to-five model doesn't work in situations where people are in scarce supply. Given the commuting difficulties in Dublin anyway, it makes better sense to offer flexibility. People in certain jobs can work at home using e-mail - and often, more efficiently - while being available to report in for a core period during the week."

His agency has never identified a need to open a branch in Dublin; and the old cliche about Galway being the "graveyard of ambition" is just that, in his company's view. The new bases in Sligo and Athlone are well placed to take advantage of the IDA's strategy of attracting investment into the Border area, the Midlands and the West. The company's chairman is the ubiquitous Padraic White, former head of the IDA.

Galway has always been an easy place to sell, but it is becoming a little harder as the city grows, he says. "We are getting people now who want to live a little further out, particularly if they have kids. Young people without commitments still regard Galway as cosmopolitan and fun. People with children are more concerned about schools and their living environment."

A key part of his business now involves retention: "Companies with foresight know they have to work now to keep skilled staff, and those that still have the hierarchical, patriarchal style of management are in for a shock." He regrets that some well-established companies are not receptive to the significance of a retention strategy.

Most of the posts that his agency is filling now are on the Web, and this was one of the reasons that Collins McNicholas changed its advertising strategy. "Newspapers may not have realised it yet, but posts that would normally appear as lineage (non-display) advertisements are now appearing on website job boards." He refers to a recent survey which indicated that 17 per cent of all jobs filled in Britain last year were through website "job board" notices.

Collins mentions in passing that he is grand-nephew of "The Big Fella". "My partner and I agreed from the outset that we would never discuss politics, and it has worked very well." His business card carries the company's distinctive "six degrees" logo - "not six degrees of separation, but six degrees, one solution".

He emphasises that the success of Collins McNicholas is down to its 45 staff. "Too many managers bask in too much of their own glory. We have a loyal, hardworking and dedicated team. I just can't rate them all highly enough."