Limits set for Bulgarian and Romanian workers

The Government has announced workers from Bulgaria and Romania will not have free access to the Irish labour market when the two countries become full European Union members in January.

Micheál Martin

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin said Romanian and Bulgarian nationals will continue to have to apply for work permits to work in Ireland.

However, he said they would be given preference over migrants seeking to come and work in Ireland from non-European Economic Area countries. The situation will be kept under review and will be assessed before the end of 2008, he added.

Ireland has experienced what Mr Martin called a "very significant inflow" of labour migrants since May 2004, when the Government decided not to impose restrictions on workers from the ten new EU accession states.

"We've decided in the context of Bulgaria and Romania to take a cautious approach and to take stock of the situation," Mr Martin said on RTE's News at Onethis afternoon.

"We want to consolidate the inflow to date and concentrate on the integration challenge."

Ireland, Britain and Sweden were the only three EU states that gave unfettered access to workers from the countries that joined the bloc in 2004.

The Government has been coming under pressure from employers, unions and the Opposition to introduce controls on the number of migrant workers.

Ibec and Ictu had both called for restrictions on workers from the two new member states. The employers' body said a cautious approach is required and that temporary restrictions are necessary to assess the "economic climate" in the Republic. Ictu called for increased protections for both Irish and foreign workers.

Mr Martin said in a statement this afternoon the Government had taken the views of Ibec and Ictu into account in making its decision.

"The Government felt that on this occasion, it was appropriate to take stock, be cautious and concentrate on addressing the integration needs of those who had already come to live and work in Ireland," he said.

Only Finland and Slovakia have said that they intend to allow workers from Bulgaria and Romania to come and work freely without restriction. Britain said this morning "less skilled" workers from the two countries would only be allowed to work in the food processing and agriculture sectors.

Earlier today, Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte called for "severe restrictions" on access to the Irish labour market for Bulgarian and Romanian workers.

"The poor labour market regulation in this country means that large scale in-migration has given rise to exploitation of migrant workers, displacement, and lower wages for some Irish workers," Mr Rabbitte said.

"Projections on the number of migrants from the ten new member states that joined the EU in 2004 were out by a mile. Given the unwillingness of other member states to open their borders, and particularly in light of the attitude being taken by the UK, Ireland cannot at this point adopt the same attitude to Bulgaria and Romania as it did to the ten accession states in 2004," he said.

Fine Gael's MEP for Dublin Gay Mitchell said today Ireland would have no option but to follow Britain's lead and impose restrictions.

"The reality is that as long as there is a common travel area between Ireland and the UK if a regulation is made in the UK it will have to be applied in Ireland," he said.

This morning, British Home Secretary John Reid announced lower-skilled workers coming to Britain from Romania and Bulgaria will initially only be able to work in the food processing and agricultural sectors. Mr Reid said there would be "transitional" controls on immigration after the countries join the EU next year.

In a written statement to Parliament, Mr Reid also said a Migration Advisory Council would be introduced to provide guidance on how low-skilled immigration should be managed. Mr Reid said the "needs" of the UK's labour market would be key to decisions on allowing immigration.

"We will expect employers to look exclusively to workers from EU nations to meet any low-skilled labour shortages within the UK," he said. "We can therefore announce today that from January 1st, 2007, we will be phasing out all low-skilled migration schemes for workers from outside the EU."

Areas other than food processing and agriculture industries will have to prove they need workers before immigration is permitted, according to Mr Reid. "Employers will need to convince the Government there is a genuine labour shortage and such schemes would be limited by quota," he added.

Additional Reporting: Reuters