In 1985 the Fianna Fail spokesman on labour and the public service, Mr Bertie Ahern, called for an amnesty for the estimated 70,000 young Irish living illegally in the United States.

Speaking after a visit to Boston and New York where he met Irish emigrants, Mr Ahern criticised the then government for failing to put pressure on the US authorities to regularise the position of the thousands forced to leave Ireland due to lack of work.

Events have turned full circle in the intervening 15 years. For the first time in our recent history we have become a destination for migrants. And many believe that with the shoe on the other foot and with an estimated 12,000 asylum-seekers due to enter the State this year, Mr Ahern and the Government are not as sympathetic as they might be.

Very shortly - perhaps this coming Tuesday or the following week - Mr Ahern will chair a Cabinet meeting which will be asked to approve a radical set of proposals from the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, to deal with the refugee accommodation crisis. If approved, the long-overdue package of measures will completely change the current system in place for the accommodation and support of asylum-seekers.

Currently, asylum-seekers that enter the State must make their way to the nearest Garda station or queue up at the Refugee Centre in Mount Street in Dublin to make their application for refugee status. There, they are issued with a card which entitles them to claim social welfare payments and to seek accommodation through the Eastern Health Board.

So serious is the accommodation crisis in the Dublin region that the health board is forced to place asylum-seekers at huge cost in top-class hotels.

Mr O'Donoghue's proposals follow a top-level meeting last November of officials from several Departments to discuss the accommodation crisis. A special directorate within the Department of Justice, headed by a senior Department official, was established to draw up proposals for direct provision for refugees and for their dispersal around the State. Dispersal of refugees around the Republic is already under way.

The Department is looking at various premises to buy or lease, including small hotels and what is described as hostel-type accommodation. It is finalising negotiations to buy such properties in Counties Carlow, Wexford and Kerry.

The directorate launched a State-wide advertising campaign for suitable accommodation and received 11,000 bed offers from local authorities, guest house owners and members of the public. After checking out all the offers, it was found that only half were suitable. With the number of asylum-seekers coming into the State increasing by the month, a new plan was needed.

Officials from the Department of Justice and the Office of Public Works have in recent weeks visited six European countries - Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Norway and Germany - to check out temporary accommodation measures for asylum-seekers including "flotels" (floating hotels), Portakabins and pavilions.

The development of what are being termed reception centres for asylum-seekers around the State is at the centre of the plan which Mr O'Donoghue will unveil. The centres will be a first stop for asylum-seekers who enter the State, where they can apply for refugee status and receive accommodation and board.

The Department of Justice was at pains this week to stress that unlike detention centres in operation in other countries, there will be freedom of movement in reception centres. Officials, who have been working flat-out at putting the plan in place, were none too pleased when the Taoiseach opened the sensitive refugee debate by refusing on an official visit to Australia to rule out mandatory detention for asylum-seekers.

Mr O'Donoghue was visiting Argentina and Uruguay as part of the St Patrick's Day celebrations when the Taoiseach expressed admiration for the Australian immigration system. News of the Taoiseach's comments did not reach him for a couple of days. But it was the last thing officials needed in advance of finalising the sensitive proposals to go to Cabinet.

The Department plans to lease up to six "flotels" and to anchor them in ports in Waterford, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Dublin. They will contain two-berth cabins and will accommodate an average of 200 asylum-seekers each. According to Office of Public Works and Department of Justice sources, the "flotels" provide a very high standard of accommodation.

OPW officials who returned from Norway last Wednesday, where they inspected a "flotel", said they were very impressed with what they saw. They have also been checked by local authority fire officers to ensure they comply with safety regulations.

A DEPARTMENT of Justice source said it was unfortunate that the focus in recent weeks has been on the floating element of this type of accommodation. "There should be more emphasis on the hotel element because that is what they are. The only difference is they are on water."

It is understood that once Cabinet approval is given for the "flotels", the OPW will put in orders for a number to be leased on a two-year contract. The OPW is responsible only for getting the "flotels" to Ireland and it will be the responsibility of the Department of Justice to kit them out as required.

"The idea will be that the `flotels' will be towed across the sea to Ireland. They will be here within days as soon as they are ordered."

It is understood that the Department of Justice is considering hiring private firms to provide security at the "flotels". Outside contractors will be responsible for maintaining the "flotels", providing meals etc.

To go hand in hand with the rather unconventional accommodation, Mr O'Donoghue is also bringing forward proposals for the dispersal of and direct provision for asylum-seekers.

The Republic is to follow the lead of Britain by providing directly for asylum-seekers. If the State does not do as in the UK, the danger is Ireland will be seen as a more attractive location for asylum-seekers.

While Mr O'Donoghue does not propose the British system of vouchers, he is proposing that accommodation be provided with full board while asylum-seekers' refugee applications are being processed. They will also have access to laundry and leisure facilities and will receive a small cash allowance of £15 a week per adult and £7.50 a week for children. "Exceptional needs" payments will also be made by health boards.

The Opposition claims the accommodation crisis is due to the absence of a clear Government strategy. Mr Jim Higgins of Fine Gael says we are not being "invaded" and we should be able to cope.

There is no doubt that the Government's plan is long overdue, although the Department of Justice insists there was no forewarning of the huge numbers that have been arriving in the last 12 months.

One thing is certain and that is that immigration, whether through economic migrants seeking work or people fleeing war and persecution, is now a fact of Irish life and will have to be accounted for in any future Government policy.