Labour warns against knee-jerk reaction to migrants poll

The Labour Party is warning against a knee-jerk reaction to an opinion poll this morning showing that a vast majority of voters want EU migrants covered by a work permit scheme.

At present, citizens of any EU member state can travel to Ireland to work without any restrictions.

More than three-quarters of respondents to this morning's Irish-Times/ TNS mrbi poll are unhappy with this situation and want a work permit scheme introduced for these workers.

Seventy percent also said they believed there were already enough or too many foreign workers in Ireland.

The Labour Party has been seeking a work-permit scheme for EU migrants for some time, claiming it would ensure decent working conditions and prevent exploitation

However, party spokesman Brendan Howlin said the Government should not rush through hasty laws in response to the poll.

"We need to put procedures in place to get things right and we can do that in a calm and measured way," he said.