Non-nationals ‘permanent feature of society’

PEOPLE must ready themselves for having non-national workers as a permanent feature of Irish society, though numbers coming into the country may have to be limited, a trade union conference was told at the weekend.

Migrants were being treated as ‘temporary guest workers’ but all that was changing and new policies for managing migration would have to be developed, urged Dr Pauline Conroy, of the social research group, Ralaheen.

She told the SIPTU National Women’s Forum that primary school principals would have to get the resources to meet the educational needs of non-national children. Also, migrants of all ages would have to be given the opportunity to learn English to help them integrate into society.