Managing labour shortages and immigration were the dominant themes at IBEC's annual human resources conference yesterday.

Companies were warned that the current economic downturn would not reduce their need to recruit good staff, and told it was vital to the national economic policy to ensure a good match between labour market demands and the growing number of people wishing to work in Ireland.

Former US congressman Mr Bruce Morrison, the man behind the US Morrison visas, said rising immigration was potentially a good thing. "It shows Ireland is a place people want to come to - but it has to be managed." Otherwise, it could lead "to congestion rather than growth".

"Nobody should take consolation that the dip in the economy will make this issue disappear," he said. Ireland "is a wonderful place to talk about this because you are early in the process. But there is a danger you can get in the same mess as the rest of us". Despite long experience in dealing with immigration, the US still found there was an "inherent mismatch" between the needs of the economy and those of individual workers.

Mr Morrison was increasingly convinced that the term "temporary worker", when applied to immigrants, was an oxymoron. "Work permits may be temporary, but jobs are often seasonal or ongoing."

Experience in the US had shown that "getting people to leave is the hardest part of immigration policy".

Well thought-out criteria to meet national needs and a speedy process for dealing with applications was essential, Mr Morrison said. The German system, where up to three generations of guest workers could be allowed to develop in isolation from the rest of society, should not be replicated anywhere, he said.

Mr Gerard O'Neill of Amβrach Consulting said the increase of 700,000 in numbers at work over the past decade had transformed Irish society. People spent more time at work and less on social and non-economic activities.

Workplace-related stress would have a negative impact on business, and employers had to accept they would have to pay for some of the products and services needed to reduce it.

The lack of balance in people's lives would also lead increasing numbers of employees to review the role of work in their lives. While three quarters of workers would prefer a pay increase to more time off, research suggested many working couples are beginning to reassess the view that both spouses should participate equally in paid work, unpaid housework and child rearing.

On the positive front for business, Mr O'Neill said employees had a high rate of job satisfaction. Eighty-six per cent of Irish workers were satisfied with their job compared with 51 per cent in the US, while two-thirds of Irish workers were likely to remain in their current employment.