Migrant workers 'vital to economy'

DELEGATES at the ISME annual conference were told of the critical importance of migrant workers to the Irish economy at the annual conference of ISME, the independent small business organisation.

Chairman Robert Berney said the increasing importance of and reliance on migrant labour was something not fully grasped by the authorities.

Since 1996, 200,000 immigrant workers have entered the State, or 6% of our total population.