Govt prepare new immigration law
The Department of Justice is believed to be preparing legislation to revamp our immigration law to replace the 1935 Aliens Act.
It is understood the new policy will be geared towards meeting the needs of modern Irish society and the highest international standards. 20,000 non-EU nationals were granted work permits last year, from just 4,000 in 1997, and a sizeable number of EU nationals are also employed in Ireland.
The legislation would not deal with asylum-seekers, as they are catered for under the 1996 Refugee Act.
It is understood John O'Donoghue is working on a framework comprising a number of elements.
Those could include the establishment of a cross-departmental group on immigration, chaired by the Department of Justice. It would also include representatives of the Departments of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Finance, Health, Education, Social Welfare, Foreign Affairs and Environment to ensure a balanced input into immigration policy.
There is also likely to be a public consultation and information gathering process, where interest groups could give views on issues in the proposed legislation.
The social partners would also be consulted. The Minister for Justice is likely to engage external expertise to examine the best practices in the immigration field.
External consultants may be employed from Europe, the UK or America in the form of a consultancy firm.
