The Government must tackle pressing skills shortages through a coherent immigration policy that takes account of social and cultural issues instead of just looking at job numbers, the Irish Business and Employers' Confederation (IBEC) has said. It said almost every sector of the economy was facing skills shortages and 270,000 new jobs would be created over the next six years.
Its director of social policy, Mr Brendan Butler, criticised current Government policy for focusing solely on the numbers of workers needed to meet the demands of the economy while ignoring the "consequences on the ground" of increased immigration, including "simmering racism".
Mr Butler urged the Government to start addressing and debating the broader social and cultural issues that would arise with the substantial numbers of immigrants expected to arrive in the coming years.
The present "ad-hoc system" was not in the interests of Irish citizens or people seeking to immigrate to Ireland, he said.
He added that 18,000 work permits were granted to non-EU nationals last year, compared to 6,200 in 1999. "A tripling of the numbers in one year highlights the worsening jobs crisis in Ireland." IBEC wants the Government to:
Set up a simple, speedy and transparent work visa system for non-EU nationals to meet the skills needs of applicants and those of Irish business and industry;
Attract returning Irish emigrants and EU nationals, particularly those with high-demand skills;
Encourage women, older people and the unemployed back to the workforce.
Mr Butler said the Government estimated that women, older people and the unemployed would fill 70,000 of the 270,000 jobs to be created over the next six years.
This would leave 200,000 vacancies to be filled by immigrants, including returning Irish nationals. When family members were included, the inflow would be 360,000 people, according to Mr Butler.
He said it was imperative the Government considered the impact this immigration would have on housing, education, the health services, transport, social welfare and the infrastructure.