Promises on Immigration

Election promises on Immigration

Fianna Fail

• Integrate asylum and pre-deportation examinations processes to increase speed.
• Enact the proposed Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill.
• Create Minister for the Integration of Immigrants.
• Only grant work permits when proven that suitable employees are not available with the European Economic Area.
• Introduction of green cards for people with certain skills.
• Allow workers to apply for their own permit and change employer in cases of mistreatment.

Fine Gael   

• Appoint a Minister for Immigration Affairs.
• Ensure that Irish laws are understood by and adhered to by immigrants.
• People who come to this country to commit serious crime are not welcome and will be dealt with severely.

Labour

• Reform of the existing work-permit system so that it becomes a green card system which does not bind workers to a particular job.
• Collection of better data on labour market conditions in order to accurately measure the extent of displacement and wage degradation.
• Ireland should sign up to the International Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and enshrine its protections in our domestic laws.

Greens

• Introduce a visibly independent appeal process for immigration decisions.
• Ensure that no prospective immigrant will be held in detention other than in the most exceptional circumstances.
• Ensure that employment legislation protects economic migrants from being exploited by their employers.
• Remove restrictive legislation surrounding work-permit holders so that they can be reunited with their families after three months and allow partners of permit holders the automatic entitlement to work following reunification.

Sinn Fein 

• Ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
 • The establishment of a National Task Force on Immigration and Emigration.
• All asylum seekers who arrived in Ireland before 1 January 2001 should be granted an amnesty.
• A special healthcare centre for the treatment of torture victims should be established in Ireland.
• Immediate end to the practice of detaining asylum seekers in prison. 

 PDs

• Tightening the asylum system, possibly by compelling seekers to remain in their asylum centers while their applications are being considered.
• Management of the integration and equality agenda will move from Department of Justice and become the responsibility of a Social Affairs Department.
• Invest in general promotion of immigrant integration (€36m), language support (€637m) and continue funding the National Action Plan Against Racism (€27m). 

Socialist Party

• No to discrimination in rights, pay or entitlements on the basis of gender, disability, race, sexual orientation, age, ethnicity or nationality.
• Trade union movement must organise migrant workers to avoid their exploitation.