Madam, - Breda O'Brien (October 18th) highlights the harm which our work permit policy is doing to the families of migrant workers in Ireland. As chaplain to the Filipino community this problem is constantly brought to my attention. I am deeply concerned for the welfare of families where young husbands and wives are separated by thousands of miles and parents are separated from their young children.
Madam, - Breda O'Brien (October 18th) highlights the harm which our work permit policy is doing to the families of migrant workers in Ireland. As chaplain to the Filipino community this problem is constantly brought to my attention. I am deeply concerned for the welfare of families where young husbands and wives are separated by thousands of miles and parents are separated from their young children.
A recent Prime Time programme dealt with this issue as it affected Filipino nurses. On that programme Minister of State, Mr Frank Fahey, stated that there was no problem for spouses of Filipino nurses to get work permits. Recently I checked with one of the Dublin hospitals. In that hospital alone there are 19 spouses who are unemployed because of the difficulty of getting work permits. A further 9 Filipino nurses have not brought their families here as living here without an option to work is unacceptable. Only 4 of the of the married Filipino nurses in that hospital have spouses with permits to work in Ireland.
Within the past week I received a phone call from a potential employer who wanted to employ the husband of a Filipino nurse. I explained the process of applying for a work permit. He asked me if he could employ him in the meantime. Unfortunately I had to tell him he could not. He will have to wait until the application is processed. Even if the permit is granted this may take months.
As well as harming the families of our Filipino nurses we are also causing difficulties for employers who could develop the Irish economy. This is the reason why many Filipino nurses have transferred to Australia and the UK and others are planning to leave. I quote from an email which I received within the past few days from the husband of a Filipino nurse who hopes to get a work permit: "We do not like to leave Dublin and go elsewhere ... Most of my wife's friends already left Dublin to UK and Australia."
All the indications are that these nurses will be badly needed. Their leaving will be our loss. - Yours, etc.,
Rev. PATRICK O'CONNELL, C.Ss.R., Chaplain to the Filipino Community, 75 Orwell Road, Dublin 6.