The Government will make a decision later this year on whether to allow unrestricted employment access to Bulgarian and Romanian workers once they join the EU, or to continue to insist they have a work permit.
During the debate on legislation to approve their membership of the EU, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Noel Treacy said the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment would amend the Employment Permits Bill so that he could decide by regulation whether "to permit unhindered access or to continue to require Bulgarian and Romanian nationals to have work permits here". Mr Treacy said the Government would make the decision on labour market access later this year "after taking account of all relevant issues, including the prevailing labour market conditions in Ireland and the intentions of other member states".
The Minister said that 17 members states had already ratified the accession treaty for the two countries and Ireland had to do likewise by the end of the year, even though it remained unclear whether they would join by the initial date of January 1st, 2007.
The European Commission will not make its final recommendation on the accession date until the autumn because of concerns about their preparedness for joining the EU.
Paudge Connolly (Ind, Cavan-Monaghan) said that rather than guessing how many people might come from Romania and Bulgaria "we should have a logical method for carrying out research on the matter. We need to be properly prepared and have the proper information".
Green Party finance spokesman Dan Boyle said that "it is not beyond the realms of possibility that the EU within the course of this century may become an organisation of 50 states". He added that "the failure to define the geography of the EU has led us down a number of blind alleys. The Government of the day needs to be more forceful in asking questions at EU level."
Gay Mitchell (FG, Dublin South Central) said the integration of immigrants needed to be co-ordinated from the top as well as encouraged on the ground, otherwise "this country will face serious problems".
He said many attending his clinics to seek services such as public housing or social welfare benefits "accuse immigrants of receiving a disproportionate level of State support. I tell such people, who often confuse immigrants with asylum seekers and make absurd claims, not to turn on other vulnerable groups." The European Communities (Amendment) Bill now goes to the Foreign Affairs Committee.
