Issues and Challenges in the Recruitment and Selection of ...

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• Green Cards, which have replaced work visas and work authorisations,were introduced as a mechanism to speed up the recruitment of non-EEAcitizens whose skills are in high demand in Ireland. A Green Card is validfor two years and authorisation to continue to work and reside in thecountry may be granted at the end of the first period of validity. Holdersof Green Cards are expected to remain with the original employer for 12months, after which they are allowed to change employer as long as theycontinue to have authorisation to work and reside in the country. GreenCards operate in respect of two categories of job:• Where the annual salary is 60,000 euros or more, the GreenCard is available for all occupations other than those classified asbeing ‘outside the public interest’;• Where the annual salary is between 30,000 and 59,999 euros,the Green Card is available for a restricted number of occupationsclassified as ‘strategically important’.The current policy provisions have been criticized by employers, trade unionsand NGOs working in the area of immigration as well as by other nationaland international commentators. A main focus of such criticism is the lack ofpolicy and legislation to support the integration of immigrants and the lackof adequate recognition of the permanency of immigration. For example, theEuropean Commission on Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) in its Second Report onIreland stated that “more attention needs to be paid to non-citizen workers asmembers of Irish society rather than just economic entities and that measuresshould be taken to reflect this approach, such as the introduction of a widerrange of work permit types to meet different situations and wider possibilities forfamily reunification”. The National Economic and Social Council has argued that“Migration is most likely to enhance Ireland’s economic and social developmentwhen it is characterised by mobility and integration rather than segmentedlabour markets and social separation” (NESC, 2006b).A number of aspects of current policy 3 have been highlighted as needingimprovement to better ensure the wellbeing of immigrant workers and theirfamilies. These include the following:• The cost to immigrants of work permits - currently each applicant for awork permit must pay 1,000 euros;3 Currently the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill is at the amendments stage and isexpected to be passed into law in the near future. Some of the current policy areas whichhave attracted criticism will be covered in the forthcoming Bill.14Issues and Challenges in the Recruitment and Selection of Immigrant Workers in Ireland
• The fact that work permits are issued to employers and not to employees,ties the employee to a specific employer thereby increasing theirvulnerability to exploitation and reducing their labour market mobility;• The need to recognise that some immigrants intend to be herepermanently– the current system is seen as reinforcing the perceptionthat immigration is temporary;• The need to develop appropriate family reunification measures forimmigrants;• The need to accord the right to work to the family members of somecategories of immigrant.1.4 Other Relevant Social Policy AreasOther areas of social policy and legislation that can shape the immigrantexperience include those in the area of social protection, equality, anti-racism andactive labour market policies.• Social Welfare PolicyUnder current provisions, entitlement to social welfare support isdependent on two years habitual residence in Ireland. This provision,which also applies to Irish citizens, means that those coming newly toIreland are not entitled to receive any support from the Irish government.One exception to this is the case of asylum seekers who are housed indirect provision housing and given an allowance of 19 euro per week.If their application for refugee status is successful, or if they are givenleave to remain on humanitarian or other grounds, and they have beenpursuing their application for over two years, they become entitled towelfare support.• Equality and Diversity PoliciesWithin the overarching framework of labour migration policies, all thoseliving in Ireland enjoy the protection from discrimination afforded byEquality Legislation on nine named grounds. These grounds include raceand ethnicity and the Employment Equality Act specifically outlawsdiscrimination on this basis in relation to employment, while the EqualStatus Act extends this to all service areas.• Active Labour Market PoliciesThe provisions of active labour market policies (particularly servicesprovided by FÁS and the Local Employment Services) are available toimmigrants on a restricted basis. In general, only immigrants from withinthe EEA countries can avail of the full set of services provided by Local15
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Page 7: Chapter 1Exploring the Recruitment
Page 10 and 11: persecution. Economic migrants enco
Page 12 and 13: • The third group is the so-calle
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Page 18 and 19: Unemployment is not the only issue
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Page 26 and 27: Chapter 2Looking for work in Irelan
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Page 30 and 31: In terms of public sector 6 employm
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Page 36 and 37: 2.6.1 Communication issuesAmong the
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Page 40 and 41: • Freedom of movement for the cit
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Page 44 and 45: are employed. By the end of the sec
Page 46 and 47: large organisations are more likely
Page 48 and 49: other occupations such as youth wor
Page 50 and 51: at 24 per cent (and just 22 per cen
Page 52 and 53: Other mechanisms to recruit foreign
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Page 56 and 57: Innovation in the use of testsIrish
Page 58 and 59: 3.2.7 VettingThe vetting of candida
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Page 62 and 63: Chapter 4Conclusions and Discussion
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of recruitment should be more integ
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Table 4.1:Divergent views of Employ
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Perceive written andlanguage based
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as either a basis for determining e
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It is reasonable to assume that in
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Of more specific relevance to the c
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public sector employers) as well as
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BibliographyBarrett, A and Y McCart
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O’Connell, P and F McGinnity (200
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Public Appointments ServiceChapter
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