Large numbers of skilled immigrant construction workers in Co Mayo are being paid below the minimum wage, according to a new report on immigration presented to former president and UN High Commissioner Mary Robinson in Castlebar yesterday.
The report also identified difficulties experienced by asylum seekers in two hostels in the area.
The first county-based study of its type on immigration, by Mayo Intercultural Action (MIA), says asylum seekers must be allowed to work six months after arriving in Ireland. It repeats calls for abolition of the system of "direct provision". Ireland is one of only two EU member states (the other being Denmark) which places such employment restrictions on new arrivals.
Asylum seekers, refugees and migrant workers were interviewed for the MIA study, which was funded by the Department of Social and Family Affairs and Mayo County Council.
A wide range of State services, such as the HSE, educational bodies and non-governmental agencies, were consulted.
Up to 190 asylum seekers are living in two hostels in Ballyhaunis and Kiltimagh, a large percentage of which are families with young children. Serious psychological and health problems were identified because of the direct provision system, and the challenges faced by people who may have experienced torture or rape in their country of origin.
The weekly payment under direct provision in hostels is €19.10 for each adult each week. This has not changed since it was introduced in 2000. The report stresses that integration is a complex issue for the host country and for immigrants. It calls for a more co-ordinated approach from all agencies in helping immigrants to integrate, and highlights the need to make services more culturally sensitive.
Mrs Robinson, president of Realising Rights, the Ethical Globalisation Initiative, said that as a Mayo woman she was "truly proud of the work done by MIA" in compiling the report.
She described it as "a model of how to work in practice on issues of immigration, integration and service provision".
She added: "Human rights issues begin at home, and there are specific challenges in this report, for local Mayo authorities, for Mayo people in general and also for the Government."