Minister for Justice Michael McDowell is to bring a proposal to Cabinet within the next fortnight on the question of allowing certain migrant workers the right to have their families join them in Ireland.
Mr McDowell made the announcement at an event in Dublin to mark the start of Ireland's sixth Anti-Racist Workplace Week, which runs until November 13th.
Goretti Mudzongo - a migrant worker, human rights lawyer and manager of the Southside Travellers' Action Group in Dublin - spoke about her experience as an immigrant.
She said she had found Irish society to be "very racist and hostile" in the way it treats migrants and Travellers. Ms Mudzongo said she had never seen a positive picture of Africans in the Irish media. There was also no recognition or appreciation of migrant workers' contribution to society, she said.
Ms Mudzongo, who is from Zimbabwe, said it had been almost a year before she was allowed to work here. Employers wanted her to organise a work permit before they would give her a job, but it took seven months for the permit to be processed.
"How many employers would wait that long?" she asked.
It had been a very frustrating and traumatic time for her, she said. Ms Mudzongo said Travellers and migrant workers suffer the same discrimination in the workplace.
Mr McDowell said he agreed with a lot of things Ms Mudzongo had said, but he disagreed fundamentally on others.
For one, he had "never, ever" made a speech about immigrants where he had not highlighted their contribution. However, the media may not always report what he had said.
He was also saddened to hear Ms Mudzongo's view that Irish people were very racist as that was not the universal view. Migrant workers were welcome to Ireland and were an essential and positive part of society, the Minister added. He said he believed the Government had taken a "pragmatic and decent" approach on migration.
The Minister said his Department is working on a memo that he intended to bring to Government within the next fortnight, which would look at the "reunification of families". He hoped to take a "positive approach" and that things would change for the better for those separated from their families, he said.
Mr McDowell also said he believed there would be, within the next weeks and months, a different approach to the spouses of migrant workers who wished to work themselves.
The Minister said at least 85,000 people had come here to work from the new EU member states since they joined in May 2004.
Ireland was one of just two states which had decided not to place restrictions on such migration following enlargement, he said.
Some 18,500 immigrants had applied to remain in Ireland since last February on the basis that they have Irish-born children. The Minister said he believed around 97 or 98 per cent of those would be given leave to remain under the scheme, which "is nearly finished its implementation".
"We are meeting a huge challenge and we are living in a very changing and challenging world and Ireland is dealing with it in a remarkably good way," Mr McDowell said.