Asylum-Seekers who are allowed to work are not being helped enough by State agencies to find skilled jobs and feel they face discrimination, according to a survey published today. The study, commissioned by the Irish Refugee Council, says asylum-seekers should be entitled to work after six months in the State. It also says FAS, as part of its national action plan, should give asylum-seekers and refugees priority for job offers, before offering jobs to non-residents.
The survey, Asylum-Seekers and the Right to Work in Ireland, involved interviews with 37 asylum-seekers allowed to work in the State. This right was granted last year to some asylum-seekers who had been waiting for a decision on their claim for refugee status for 12 months.
By the end of last June, 1,032 of the 3,241 asylum-seekers allowed to work had either found a job or had stopped claiming social welfare payments for other reasons. These are the only asylum-seekers who have been granted the right to work. If asylum-seekers' claims for refugee status are successful, they become entitled to work.
The report argues that the low take-up of jobs among eligible asylum-seekers is "because the right to work was not accompanied by the necessary rights and social mechanisms needed to aid asylum-seekers into jobs".
It says: "The absence of support from State agencies has undoubtedly contributed towards the barriers faced by asylum-seekers in obtaining skilled employment. Most were unable to access information and advice which would have helped them find work."
Asylum-seekers are not entitled to take part in FAS training schemes, although a dedicated FAS asylum-seekers unit has been set up to assist those eligible to work to find jobs.
A quarter of those surveyed considered their knowledge of their rights and entitlements on employment adequate. More than a third said they knew nothing about their rights and entitlements to training. Four in 10 people said they had experienced racism and discrimination from recruiters and employers while seeking work.
Some said they were told by employers that they would prefer to recruit Irish staff. One person was told he had been turned down for a job because the employer felt he would not get on well with the other staff or clients.
The report found that those surveyed were highly motivated to seek work, and half of them had made more than 20 job applications. Despite their efforts, however, they were largely unsuccessful in their job applications, and this led to disillusionment for some. Most were educated to at least secondary level, and many had formal qualifications.
The study found that many people were forced to accept temporary or part-time work for which they were overqualified, with poor conditions, low pay and lack of trade union representation. These jobs were mostly unskilled in the service industries.
Most people surveyed (83 per cent) earned less than £6 an hour, while a quarter earned less than £5 an hour, including some who earned below the minimum wage of £4.40.
Most people said they had difficulties getting their qualifications recognised by Irish employers. In one case a doctor was unable to do so in Ireland because the Department of Justice would not release his documents. He was, therefore, not able to sit exams which would have allowed him practise as a doctor in Ireland.
Most of those surveyed said they had little or no knowledge of Ireland before arrival. This, says the survey, points to "push" rather than "pull" factors for coming to the State. The report concludes that asylum-seekers are the most disempowered group in Irish society, and have "the least access, rights and entitlements to social and material resources of all the groups who live in Irish society".
It calls for an immigration policy which recognises the presence and participation of non-nationals in the labour market. "This policy should ensure that immigrants have the same rights to protection in employment as others in Irish society," it says.
The research was carried out by Dr Bryan Fanning from the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at University College Dublin, and Dr Steven Loyal from the Department of Sociology. It will be launched today in Dublin by Ms Inez McCormack, president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
Mr Peter O'Mahony, the chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council, said the barriers asylum-seekers with the right to work faced "must be tackled if they are to be enabled to maximise their contribution to Irish society".