IBEC wants almost no restrictions on hiring from outside the EU as evidenced by the recent FAS report which showed an extraordinary 40 per cent of vacancies being the subject of work permit applications.
Madam, - David Beggs, writing about social partnership (December 16th), identified three areas where consensus is required, one of them being immigration.
He implied that it was through social partnership that such a consensus was to be reached. He was correct about the need for society to reach and implement a consensus on immigration if we are to avoid the race relations problems of other countries and I take comfort from a seeming implication in his article that a blind, politically correct "welcome, one and all" was a disastrous policy.
However, I do not for a moment think that social partnership can deliver a genuine consensus on immigration. The ICP has no view on social partnership per se, but the two main actors IBEC and ICTU can most certainly not be trusted to reach a consensus reflecting society's views on this matter.
The trade union movement is steeped in political correctness. It is a mirror of Britain where no reasonable person would believe that Bill Morris represents broad societal views on asylum and immigration. The voluntary and community pillar, led by CORI, is no better.
He is absolutely right about the necessity for the consensus, but it is by politicians listening to their constituents' concerns and not upbraiding them for those concerns as in the past last election, that consensus is to be found. It was so before social partnership was ever heard of.
The trouble is that organised civil society tends to be left/liberal or even radical and the non-organising Joe Soaps from whom consensus must be sought are overlooked.
Wrong recipe, Mr Beggs. - Yours, etc.,
AINE NÍ CHONAILL,
PRO,
Immigration Control Platform,
Dublin 2.