Green cards ‘are no such thing’

FORMER US Congressman Bruce Morrison yesterday said that ‘green cards’ being proposed by Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin in new employment permits legislation were no such thing.

The man behind the Morrison visa programme - which gave thousands of Irish people residency rights in the US in the 1990s - said bluntly that no green cards were being provided for in the Employment Permits Bill 2005.

“In its proper sense, a green card gives permanent residence. They are not discretionary permits that can be withdrawn after five years.