A number of hotels, including four-star, and other guest houses around Dublin are full of immigrants, the Taoiseach told the Dail.

The Taoiseach said that clearly, over time, these immigrants would have to be dealt with in a more permanent way with regard to housing and accommodation.

During Question Time, Mr John Bruton, Fine Gael leader, asked what the Government's policy on immigration was. How did they propose to ensure that humanitarian considerations took their proper place alongside economic needs for the country?

The Taoiseach said the Government had been clearly welcoming immigration. A total of 44,000 people had come into the country in recent times. By and large, most of those were coming back into the labour market. They were a group of people that was coming back into the housing market as well.

That was to be welcomed, but whether they were to continue to have that level was another thing.

In terms of immigrants coming in, the Government was following the UN High Commission rules. It was doing that more liberally and with more of a humanitarian nature probably than most European countries. He was in favour of that, he said.

"At the same time, I think we have to be careful of how we do that. We cannot allow the perception that literally our systems can be overwhelmed by it. I think we have to try and get a balance, balance people coming in around the country and try and protect them as best we can. We would be supportive of that and that will be reflected in the Bill which is near finalisation," he said.

Mr Bruton asked if the Taoiseach would agree that immigrants, whether they be people coming to work in Intel from California or Kurdish refugees escaping oppression in Iraq, needed to be housed. Was the Government's provision for housing, in particular for local authority housing, taking adequate account of the pressure of immigration on the housing market?

The Taoiseach said there was a comprehensive programme, not just in local authority housing on this issue but right across a range of things and in community and voluntary sector housing. He agreed with Mr Bruton that when people came into the country they should be cared for.

"There are pressures in that, I have to readily admit, and there are a a number of hotels around this city at the moment that are full of immigrants, four-star hotels, and other guest houses are full of immigrants. So clearly over time they will have to be dealt with in more permanent fashion. That is the policy of the departments who are trying to co-ordinate this issue," the Taoiseach said.