Natives and immigrants alike are exploited by minimum wage employers

I BELIEVE some of the remarks made by Integration Minister Conor Lenihan at a recent symposium in Wicklow were divorced from reality as far as many Irish citizens are concerned.

He preened himself on the success of the so-called ‘immigration project’ which has supposedly earned Ireland the admiration of the rest of the world.

While it is good to have newcomers who want to contribute to our society, does the minister envisage an ‘Irish citizen project’ in which all hard-working natives are assured decent work and a home of their own?