Fianna Fáil have done a "180-degree turn" on the issue of work permits, Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte said today.
Mr Rabbitte made the accusation following comments made this morning by Fianna Fáil Cork TD Ned O'Keeffe, in reaction to a poll in The Irish Times.
Mr O'Keeffe conceded that if work permits could be introduced he would support them.
This morning's poll showed a large majority wants to reintroduce work permits for workers from the new EU member states, and a similar majority believes there are enough or too many foreign workers here.
An overwhelming majority - 78 per cent - believe people from the central and east European states that joined the EU in 2004 should now be required to apply for and receive work permits before coming here to work. Just 17 per cent believe they should not, and 5 per cent have no opinion.
Mr O'Keeffe claimed that anecdotal evidence from his constituency showed Irish people were being displaced by foreign workers.
"The situation has to be looked at in some orderly way. But at the end of day we have to have some protection in place for Irish people who are seeking employment in their own land," Mr O'Keeffe said.
"It's a matter for the legislature to put systems in place where we can maybe work on a quota system," he added.
A fortnight ago, the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Tom Parlon, accused Mr Rabbitte of showing "questionable political judgment [with] little or no grasp of economics and wilful ignorance of European law," when the Labour leader called for a discussion over the implementation of work permits.
Mr Rabbitte said today: "I think what people are saying is that we must monitor this situation and we must implement the kind of measures that the Labour Party put in its document published last week."
Mr Rabbitte called for more labour inspectors and a need to support the temporary workers agency directive in Europe.
"I think if we take those steps and if we monitor the impact of the new migrant labour then I think a lot of that unease will abate over time," he added.
Meanwhile, when asked about The Irish Timespoll this afternoon, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell, said: "I don't think anybody is really suggesting that the people who are here now working in our economy should be sent home."
He conceded that it would be difficult to implement work permits asking: "Who would be eligible for them and if there was excessive demand for them who would actually decide that this person gets one of those permits and that person doesn't?
"The interests of Ireland depend on there being migration into the country at this stage. It can't be uncontrolled migration and I take that poll as saying to the Government, remember you have a power to control it and if needs be you should control it," he said.
