Former EU commissioner and newly-appointed UN special representative on migration Peter Sutherland has criticised the "negativity" surrounding the immigration debate in Ireland, write Liam Reid and Paul Cullen
Mr Sutherland, who has been appointed to head a UN review of global migration, said the growth of the Irish economy had been significantly driven by immigration.
"That's why it is depressing to see people regard this as a negative, even in economic terms," he told The Irish Times. "There is no doubt it is a positive in moral terms to adopt a generous approach to immigration, especially given that we have been the beneficiaries of the generosity of others over many decades."
The comments came in the wake of an Irish Times/TNS mrbi poll which showed that 78 per cent of people want to reintroduce work permits for workers from the 10 states that joined the EU in 2004.
Yesterday Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said there were no plans to restrict migrants from the current EU member states but said the Government was still undecided as to whether it would introduce labour migration restrictions on countries that join the EU in the future, such as Bulgaria and Romania.
The Government also accused opposition TDs of peddling "misinformation" about the proposed services directive, which is due to be debated in the Dáil later this week, dismissing claims it could undermine Irish wage levels and working conditions.
Yesterday a spokeswoman for Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment Micheál Martin reiterated the Government's view that there were no plans to introduce limits or work permits for citizens from the 10 accession countries.
She said significant levels of migration were expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Research indicated there would be a skills shortage of 30,000 per year over the next decade, she said.
She also pointed out that the Government was to introduce legislation in the coming months which will introduce a new green card and work permit system for workers from outside the EU.
The outcome of this, she claimed, would be the protection of individual worker's rights, and it would help protect against the lowering of standards and conditions for workers.
The Dáil is due to discuss a motion on the proposed EU services directive, backed by the majority of Independent TDs, which claims it could be used to undermine rates of pay and working conditions.
Mr Martin's spokeswoman said the Government had concerns about some aspects of the proposal relating to areas such as healthcare, but that there was "no question of Irish labour and employment law being eroded".
Reacting to The Irish Times poll results, Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said the results showed that there was "a sophisticated response" to the issue of migration, in that a majority of respondents believed it had been good for the Irish economy and society but at the same time were concerned about job displacement.
A spokesman for Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said that while the party was not in favour of a work permit system for new EU countries at present, it welcomed the debate on the issue that had been sparked by Mr Rabbitte.
Mr Rabbitte also accused Government TDs of doing a "U-turn" on the issue of migration, as they had strongly criticised his comments three weeks ago when he called for a debate on the issue.