Migrant rights group calls for immigration reform as Ireland returns to net migration

The rights group said the Government had to take action to ensure migrants have rights, dignity and security.

Pablo Rojas Coppari, MRCI policy and research officer, said: “The return to net inward migration is a good thing: it indicates economic recovery and a vibrancy in the labour market.

“As Ireland’s population ages we will need more and more new workers, and our immigration system needs to address this demand for workers, combat exploitation, and promote integration.”

However, he added: “Unfortunately, in Ireland we have no comprehensive immigration legislation, we have no plan for integration, and our labour migration policies are outdated.

“This trend of net inward migration is going to continue as the economy grows, and Ireland needs to act quickly to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Failure to reform our immigration and labour migration systems will waste resources and continue to leave people in limbo, without clear rights set out in law.”

Mr Rojas Coppari highlighted the thousands of undocumented workers in Ireland due to a failure to respond in policy terms to the demand for workers during the ‘Celtic Tiger’ years.

He said: “There are no structures in place to stop that happening again. We’ve had multiple cases of serious labour exploitation, forced labour and trafficking which could have been alleviated or avoided altogether in a fairer and less rigid system.

“Little effort has been made to ensure our society and economy fully benefits from immigration while at the same time affording rights to migrants to live full lives here. Ireland needs a flexible, responsive and realistic immigration system urgently.”