There is no evidence that immigrant labour has driven down wage rates, the Minister of State for Labour Affairs said today.
Tony Killeen said Ireland operated the "most liberal and open-door" policy on foreign labour of any EU state.
Speaking to a conference this morning on the migration of EU workers, Mr Killeen said the influx of labour since the accession of ten new states to the EU in 2004 had a positive effect on the Irish economy.
He said it was originally estimated that 15,000 - 20,000 workers form the accession states would come to Ireland in the first year. He said the figures show this was a significant underestimation and that in excess of 100,000 had taken up employment since May 2004.
Non-nationals comprise at least 8 per cent of the Irish labour force compared to 3.7 per cent in 1999, he added. Mr Killeen's comments come in the context of deadlocked talks on a new national wage agreement.
The main sticking point to date is the unions' insistence on new protections for existing workers to address possible job displacement caused by workers lower wage expectations entering the labour market.
Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte caused controversy recently when he suggested that particular sectors such as construction and hospitality may be vulnerable.
Mr Killeen today referred to statistics which showed the only sector with significantly above average levels of foreign labour was hospitality with non-nationals accounting for 19.2 per cent of those employed.
"Preliminary indications are that the participation of EU-10 nationals has not had a significant impact on overall wage levels, or indeed on unemployment rates her" Mr Killeen said.
Economic migration nonetheless presents challenges such the language barrier, access to the same employment rights and protections enjoyed by Irish nationals.
Bringing in high-skilled labour from outside the EU was also a problem and a new green card-type system had been implemented. Mr Killeen said the system would remain under review and adapt to match market needs.