Asylum seekers should be given the right to work

MINISTER MCDOWELL commented on TV, after the launch of the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, to the effect that the work permit system is there for people who are genuinely looking for work and who are to some extent escaping "economic" persecution (ie. poverty), and not "State" persecution as is the case when one applies for refugee status in Ireland.

This is fair enough, but one needs to consider the bigger picture of the many much-needed migrant workers currently making a living and paying taxes in Ireland.

If one looks at the top 10 nationalities who were granted permits to work in Ireland in 2001 and compares it with the top 10 nationalities of asylum seeker applications for the same year, six of the ten are common for each list Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and South Africa.