Equality body criticises Bill for migrants

The Equality Authority has criticised the proposed immigration Bill for its lack of focus on equality issues.

It said the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill should address the situation of human trafficking and the rights of migrant workers who were being exploited by employers.

The comments were made in the Equality Authority's submission to the consultation process for the new Bill.

Under the planned legislation, non-EU nationals who commit a range of offences will face summary deportation.

The Bill also provides for all non-EU nationals to carry biometric identity cards. Without these, they will be subject to arrest, detention and deportation.

Equality Authority chief executive Niall Crowley said he was "disappointed" the Bill didn't include provisions to embed equality in immigration policy and practice.

The Equality Authority submission said any discrimination on the grounds of nationality should only be permitted if it could be "objectively justified with legitimate, relevant and sufficient reasons being provided". It said there was a perception that the principles of equality were not important in immigration control "because the view is that sovereign interests must hold sway".

"However, this is an understanding of sovereignty that is somewhat outdated and does not take into account that individuals could be rights holders in international law." Mr Crowley said equality principles had been incorporated into immigrant policy "without difficulty" in jurisdictions such as Northern Ireland and Canada. The agency called for a charter of rights for all migrants to reflect concern for the vulnerability of migrants.