Irish Examiner view: Time to resolve issue of undocumented migrants 

Ireland will greatly benefit from additional, willing workers

Nadim Hussain, who currently lives in direct provision in Cork is pleading to be granted permission to remain in Ireland.

The compelling accounts provided by our journalists of those who have become known as “the undocumented” in Ireland reveal stories of courage, fortitude, and initiative which will add to the stock of talent in the country, once these people are able to start to take their places as fully-fledged citizens.

As our reporter Sean Murray writes, the once-off Government scheme allows those without a current permission to remain in the country — some estimates put the figure at 17,000 — the chance to regularise their status and means they will not have to fear every knock at the door.

The project is championed by Justice Minister Helen McEntee and was introduced last month to general approbation. People who have worked in the shadows, fulfilling nonetheless important roles as carers, in childcare, and on building sites, will get the chance to regularise their position and assemble some of the building blocks of a normal life... the right to a minimum wage, to get a driving licence, to be permitted to visit home and still return to these shores.

Survey

A survey of 1,000 undocumented people showed that some 75% had been living in Ireland for five years or more. Nine out of 10 were supporting themselves through employment, while more than a third were providing care to older people in private home settings. 

This implies high levels of stability and what is striking among those people we have spoken to is the length of time they have been waiting for resolution.

One Bangladeshi national has been in Cork for nearly six years and in this country for 12, while other members of his peer group have been here for 14 years. In that time, he has not been able to return home to South Asia, despite the passing of five members of his extended family.

Healthcare

Regularisation also has a potential impact on healthcare, with undocumented people sometimes reluctant to come forward for Covid tests or inoculation because they do not have a PPS number. 

Further details of the scheme’s implementation are to be announced shortly and it will be important, once this particular cohort is legitimised, to ensure that the future regulatory framework is transparent and easy to access. In the years to come, Ireland needs to build its tax base to meet the financial challenges of the next three decades. 

Migrants will have an important contribution to make. All willing workers who want to build a viable future in a great country should be welcome.