Immigration myth

The Freedom Institute's blog has some interesting figures from the The CSO's current (Q3 2005) Quarterly National Household Survey about how immigrant workers are effecting wages in light of recent Pat Rabbitte comments. You can read the Article here. The best fact i think is this.

While construction absorbed the highest percentage of immigrant workers, wage inflation in this area stood at 6.0% in the 12 months to September 2005.

With Inflation between 2-3% Construction wages grew. Compared to

Earnings in the Financial Services sector were up just 1.7% in the 12 months to September, below the rate of consumer price inflation.

Edit: A survey in the Irish Times tomorrow says that about 78% of the population polled want eastern Europeans subject to Work Permits. Also according to politics.ie the PD supporters are the ones most against work permits. But comparing the figures from the Freedom Institute and the poll makes scary reading. Pat Rabbitte type scare tactics could lay the basis for an Irish BNP. Scary times indeed. Edit again: Minister for Social and Family Affairs Seamus Brennan weighs in:

"These people deserve to be treated properly in Ireland, they deserve to be welcome here," he said. "They're young people who come here for fairly short periods to do work and that's what Irish people have done all over the world for generations. "It wouldn't be right for us to start with any kind of serious restrictions."

SIPTU leader:

“It is now absolutely clear that, if we are to go into new national pay talks, and that has still to be decided, these issues must be addressed,” Mr O’Connor said. “Even if we wanted to, neither the trade union movement, nor the Government, nor probably employers, could emerge with an acceptable proposal from those talks that does not comprehensively address these issues.”

Edit 3. Michael McDowell

No one is really suggesting that the people who are here now working in our economy should be sent home." He conceded that it would be difficult to implement work permits asking: "Who would be eligible for them and if there was excessive demand for them who would actually decide that this person gets one of those permits and that person doesn't? "The interests of Ireland depend on there being migration into the country at this stage. It can't be uncontrolled migration and I take that poll as saying to the Government, remember you have a power to control it and if needs be you should control it,"

Ned O'Keefe

"The situation has to be looked at in some orderly way. But at the end of day we have to have some protection in place for Irish people who are seeking employment in their own land," Mr O'Keeffe said. "It's a matter for the legislature to put systems in place where we can maybe work on a quota system," he added.