Sir, - It is evident to asylum-seekers and to those working with them that there is a great deal of confusion about the procedures regarding their right to work. Matters have not been sufficiently clarified by recent newspaper reports (e.g. The Irish Times, August 13th). The procedures for securing work permits for asylum-seekers do not seem to give them the same rights as EU and Irish citizens. The requirement that employers pay £25 a month (or £125 a year) per work permit will act as a serious disincentive. The fact that asylum-seekers are not eligible for training, education and in particular FAS schemes further disadvantages them, because many, after more than two years in limbo, may have become de-skilled and because many professional asylum-seekers, whose qualifications are not recognised, would need to be re-trained.
As your readers may be aware, a recent UCD study has established that asylum-seekers in Ireland are an unusually well-qualified group. However, the requirements that asylum-seekers themselves locate potential employers and that employers advertise positions (even through the Internet) for Irish and EEA workers must mean that many asylum-seekers, already a vulnerable group, will be forced to the lowest end of the labour market. In addition, the denial of Family Income Support to asylum-seekers who do take up low-paid jobs may leave them with even lower incomes than the Supplementary Welfare Allowance they would be entitled to if they were not working.
We are additionally concerned that women asylum-seekers are especially jeopardised by these guidelines. Employers are not allowed to apply for permits for part-time asylum-seeker employees. This will exclude many women who, because of childcare responsibilities, can work only part-time. This will particularly affect asylum-seekers who are lone mothers.
In view of the current labour shortages threatening to slow our economic growth, it makes neither economic nor humanitarian sense to deprive us of the skills and talents of the asylum-seeker community. - Yours, etc.,
Eileen Reilly, Katrina Goldstone, Ronit Lentin, Irish Association of Minority Ethnic Women, Department of Sociology, Trinity College, Dublin 2.