Filipino migrants have made an impact on Ireland, particularly in the health services, but they live with uncertainty, and this affects family life, writes Fr Pat O'Connell
A conference held in Dublin this week addressed some of the concerns of our rapidly growing Filipino population. Some 40 representatives of an organisation, Filipino Migrants of the European Region, were led by Bishop Precioso Cantillas, the bishop assigned by the Conference of Bishops of the Philippines to the special care for Filipino migrants world-wide.
It is the first time this annual conference has been held in Ireland and provided an opportunity to discuss the concerns of some 16,000 Filipinos living in Ireland, North and South. There was a special emphasis on family life. While most Filipinos here are happy and have adapted to Irish life, there are some causes for serious concern.
Irish society needs to provide for the security and stability of Filipino migrant families. Even those who have been employed for more than six years in providing vital services are not assured of stability. Many have permanent employment but visas for only one or two years. Renewal can easily be refused. They were led to believe that they would be eligible for permanent status after five years.
Some who are here for more than six years have been waiting a year without a reply to their application. They had been told that they could apply for naturalisation after five years. For most, these expectations now seem illusory.
They expected that spouses of those with work visas or work permits would be allowed to work. That is not the case. Spouses can apply for a work permit. But most employers are not willing to go through the application process with a waiting time of several weeks. The work permit itself allows them to work for only one employer. This has been referred to as a system of bondage. It is open to exploitation. Because of the limitations of the work permit system, highly-qualified and experienced people cannot look for employment suited to their skills.
This leads to waste of talent and frustration. In contrast to this, the spouses of Filipinos employed in Belfast are free to work. There is no need for a work permit.
The status of children who come as infants to join their parents is vague. When they reach 18 years of age they no longer qualify as dependants. They will either have to leave the country or register as students. If they enter third-level education, irrespective of the points they receive in the Leaving Cert they will have to pay huge fees as non-EU students. In most cases this will be beyond their reach, especially if there is more than one member of the family at college.
The experience of Filipino families in the North is very different. One Filipina nurse arrived in Belfast in 2000. Her husband and children joined her in 2001.
In February of this year all the members of the family received UK passports. It would indeed be wonderful if the Filipino migrants here could expect similar treatment. Unfortunately, under the present system all the children will remain in a very uncertain state. They study with Irish classmates. They play with them. Many already speak Irish. But whether they can remain with their families into adulthood in Ireland is not clear.
I would hope that they will not be forced to leave their parents and families as teenagers. That would surely be totally contrary to the family values we claim to profess.
Many of the Filipino migrants in Ireland are employed in the health sector. They are generally highly appreciated by colleagues and patients. Some already hold management positions. Unfortunately for a small number, coming to Ireland was a sad experience. Some have spoken of discrimination and even bullying during the period of adaptation which is required prior to registration as nurses in Ireland.
In some cases such treatment was noticed by co-workers and patients. Some nurses were refused registration.
For the past four years those who were caught in this situation could appeal to An Bord Altranais and were allowed to repeat the assessment in another hospital. This worked very well, and when moved to a different environment these nurses were very successful.
However, in recent months some of those who were not successful in the orientation period had their appeal refused and were not allowed to repeat the process elsewhere. In such cases they were not allowed to work in any capacity, even as carers. Their visas were refused and they were forced to return to the Philippines. Some were nurses with years of experience in top-class hospitals. For those concerned this was tragic.
They had already resigned from their positions in the Philippines when recruited for the Irish health service. They were expected to return jobless to the Philippines which has a surplus of nurses and little prospect of suitable employment. It is sad that any human being could receive such treatment. It is important that we in Ireland, as well as nurses in the Philippines, be aware that such things can happen. This would seem to be denial of due process.
An independent appeal is a basic right according to the norms of the EU and UN.
As the host country, the Catholic Church in Ireland deserves great credit for the timely hosting of this conference. It is hoped that some of the problems highlighted above will be practically addressed during this conference by the speakers which have been drawn from the pastoral, regulatory and international perspectives.
Fr Pat O'Connell C.Ss.R is chaplain to the Filipino community in Ireland