Workers from the 10 EU accession states only earn about half the average weekly wage level for jobs traditionally associated with immigrant workers.
This is despite over half of all migrant workers in Ireland having a third-level qualification, a major conference on the recognition of qualifications will hear tomorrow.
In his address to the day-long conference at Dublin Castle, hosted by the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI), Fás economist Brian McCormick will note the number of workers from the accession states has increased by more than 800 per cent in the past three years.
However, previous research by the Department of Social and Family Affairs has shown that their average earnings in 2004 were only €365 a week in all sectors, just over half the average weekly wage earned by others working in the construction, services and manufacturing sectors.
While age and language play a role, Mr McCormick says problems with recognition of qualifications gained outside Ireland can mean "high-skill" workers end up working in "low-skill" jobs.
To continue to attract foreign investment, he says, Ireland needs to ensure skilled migrants are working in appropriate jobs. This could also reduce the current skills shortage and lessen income inequality.
"Qualifications recognition for migrants would allow migrant workers gain experience in occupations that they are qualified in, thereby turning any 'brain drain' into a 'brain gain'," Mr McCormick said yesterday.
The qualifications authority manages the system for qualifications recognition in Ireland. It has seen demand for its services double in recent years, mainly from east European and Russian Federation workers. Last year, 800 people applied to have their qualifications recognised. This figure has already been reached this year and is expected to double by the end of 2006.
There is no Europe-wide system for qualifications recognition, each country has to make its own agreements. It can take up to 10 weeks for qualifications to be recognised by the authority.
According to Mr McCormick, Ireland will need to attract some 25,000 graduates over the medium term to meet projected skills shortages.