THE MIGRANT RIGHTS Centre wants the government to allow undocumented workers regularise their situations.

The centre will today appear before the Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs to discuss the plight of undocumented migrants in Ireland.

The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) is made up of over 1,500 undocumented migrants living in Ireland and the group is campaigning for the introduction of a regularisation scheme.

Research carried out by MRCI revealed that 1 in 5 undocumented migrants have lived in Ireland for more than 10 years, 89% are employed and 1 in 3 have been in the same job for more than five years.

Edel McGinley, director of MRCI, told TheJournal.ie that while Irish politicians lobby for undocumented Irish people abroad, they must be mindful of those in the same situation on our shores.

“Undocumented people in Ireland are the same as the Irish undocumented in the US: they are working, they’re part of the community, they’re paying tax, and they’ve been here a long time.

A straightforward and transparent regularisation scheme is a sensible, practical and cost-effective way to address this ongoing issue. It’s what the Irish government is lobbying for in the US; introducing it here would have the added benefit of strengthening our representations there.

She added that undocumented children face “high levels of stress”.

“If we fail to regularise undocumented children and young people, we’re in breach of our international human rights obligations.”