EU plans crackdown on illegal workers

FAMILIES that employ illegal immigrants as domestic or childcare help would be among employers prosecuted and liable to major fines under proposals from the European Commission.

This is part of a scheme to discourage the estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants who come into the EU every year.

It aims to have 10% of companies inspected annually to check for workers without permits. The average number of inspections in Ireland is a fraction of this, with just 11 such complaints investigated in 2005.