Unscrupulous farmers are paying asylum-seekers as little as €1 an hour to pick stones, according to a Co Kilkenny priest.
Fr Willie Purcell said he had come across three such cases involving farmers.
In another case he came across immigrant workers whose employer had given them bread covered in brown sauce for lunch.
"Many non-nationals in Kilkenny are being exploited in a way that has led to a new form of slavery," he said.
Fr Purcell declined to identify the farmers, saying he wanted to organise a meeting with them first. He also plans to involve gardaí.
However, he conceded that some of the farmers had refused to discuss their employment of asylum-seekers, who are officially barred from working.
"Asylum-seekers have to live on €19.50 a week, so it's not surprising they will do anything to increase their income," said Fr Purcell, who is director of Dóchas, the diocesan outreach service to refugees.
The organisation has already contacted the Department of Justice about the matter, and plans to bring its concerns to the Department of Enterprise and Employment.
