Migrant workers have staged a protest at the Department of Justice (DoJ) calling for changes to current family reunion policies that they say are keeping them separated from their loved ones.
The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI), which organised the demonstration, said that under the current family reunion policy essential workers must wait 12 months before they can apply to bring their family to Ireland.
These applications then take up to 12 months to be processed.
The centre said that a salary assessment means that many migrant workers are left as long as seven years without being able to reunite with their immediate family.
Nurudeen Oyewole, spokesperson for the Families Belong Together campaign group and a social care worker, said it is deeply painful not being able to have his wife and children with him.
"I shouldn't have to choose between providing for my family and being with them," Mr Oyewole said.
Shiji Joseph is originally from India and works as a carer in a nursing home.
"I would love nothing more than to see my kids every day, to help them with their homework, to share a meal as a family, all of us together, myself, my husband and my kids," Ms Joseph said.
Neil Bruton, Campaigns Manager with MRCI, said the Department of Justice has been reviewing the family reunion policy for the past 12 months and that it is unclear why it is taking so long.
"The people demonstrating here today care for older people. They build our roads and houses. They drive our buses. They pick, pack, and cook our food," Mr Bruton said.
"Despite working full time and paying taxes, they are forced to live apart from their families for years on end because of an unfair system," he added.
The Department of Justice said the wider issue of family reunification waiting periods and other matters is currently the subject of an ongoing review of the Non-EEA Family Reunification Policy.
