The Government should set up a national immigration service to recruit and select immigrants and allow a separate body to deal with asylum-seekers, a commission of the Irish Bishops' Conference has said.
The Irish Commission for Justice and Peace says economic need should govern the number of immigrants admitted to the State, but the group also supports the admission of some immigrants on humanitarian grounds.
It says most of the immigration should be based on the assumption that people admitted will be allowed "to stay and settle permanently if they so desire".
It supports a "clearly stated" system of quotas to regulate the number of immigrants and says they should be drawn up after wide consultation with employers, unions, education authorities, government departments, local authorities, and refugee and ethnic groups.
The recommendations are included in its new document, First Notes Towards A Comprehensive Irish Immigration Policy.
The group claims there has been considerable confusion between the words "asylum-seeker" and "immigrant". It points out that the Government, under international law, cannot refuse to admit genuine asylum applicants.
This is even if "their numbers may be largely determined by extraneous factors" outside the Republic's control.
Consequently, it says, it could be argued that decisions on asylum applicants are made "autonomously" on the merits of each case, whereas immigration policy is at the discretion of the Government.
Most of the document deals specifically with those coming to the Republic for economic reasons. It says the Department of Justice currently administers asylum procedures, and the group does not offer a view on whether this should continue.
It notes that recent surveys indicate that up to 160,000 immigrants may be needed over the next six to seven years to maintain current levels of economic growth. It claims this will put serious stress on the State's administrative resources, increasing the need for a new immigration service. The new service should provide information to potential immigrants before they apply for work permits and consequently eliminate unsuccessful and unnecessary applications.
The document says a national immigration policy should cover three groups of people: those coming here for economic reasons, those admitted on humanitarian grounds (not including those applying as asylum-seekers) and those admitted on the grounds of family reunion.
In relation to those admitted on economic grounds, it says "no country in the world" operates a complete open-door policy, and uncontrolled entry would "produce intolerable pressures on the economic, cultural and political fabric of the host society".
In relation to admitting people on humanitarian grounds, the document says this should cover "displaced persons, stateless persons and those in situations of want, need or special distress, such as having suffered serious human rights abuses".
It says such a policy is justified because of a moral responsibility rich countries have towards the marginalised, the excluded and the poverty-stricken.
The immigration service, apart from providing a reception service for potential immigrants, would advise them on training opportunities and "explain Ireland to its immigrants and immigrants to the Irish".
It could administer funding to non-governmental organisations, community groups and self-help migrant groups which want to set up services for refugees and immigrants.
It should also assist migrant workers and their families to return to their country of origin should they wish, or if their residence permit expires. "This would also involve the immigration service in liaising with the authorities in the country of origin, to facilitate reintegration of such migrants into their own country," the document says.
If immigrants are admitted the service would continue to monitor their progress. Systems should be put in place to address factors which "militate against their well-being, advancement and integration" in the host community.
The Labour senator Ms Kathleen O'Meara has appealed for tolerance towards refugees seeking asylum in Ireland. She said the Government had a duty to encourage people to extend a warm welcome to refugees trying to escape oppressive regimes. "We must be prepared to shoulder our share of Europe's responsibility towards its poorer countries," she said.
"It is only a decade ago that thousands of Irish people emigrated each year because there were no jobs for them due to the poor state of our economy. Nor is it so long since many Irish people were badly treated in foreign cities simply because they were Irish. Now the tables have turned and we are being asked to be generous and tolerant."