Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I can accept the idea of a review but not the terms of the amendment. I point out to Senators that a quarter of all permits issued so far this year had no fee at all attached to them be they new or renewals. This is because a range of applicants do not currently have to pay any fee, including spouses and employers which are registered charities. That said, it is my intention to carry out a review of the fee structure for all employment permits later this year. I assure the House that an open consultation process will be part and parcel of the review process.

The purpose of the Bill is to place the granting of employment permits on a clear statutory footing and to provide for a significant level of detail in the accompanying regulations. This will preclude consideration on a case-by-case basis of the widely varied circumstances of individual applicants. That is what would be required were the Senator's amendment to be accepted to waive fees on a case-by-case basis for the renewal of an employment permit. Further, the grounds on which such a waiver might be applied would necessarily be based on third party, possibly unsubstantiated, reports on the circumstances of an applicant or on an investigation into those circumstances which would likely cause considerable delay in the issue of the renewal permit, thereby jeopardising the continuation in employment.

It is important to remember that an employer can also apply and pay for a new or renewal permit. Therefore, a waiver provision is not necessary. Indeed, anecdotal evidence from discussions my staff have had regularly with employers of migrant workers suggests that Irish employers highly value their migrant worker staff and are willing to pay the fees to enable them to renew their employment. It is also the case that after five years working in the State on foot of an employment permit, a foreign national may seek immigration permission from my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, to reside and work in the State without the requirement to hold a work permit. Given my fee review plans for later this year and the unworkable nature of a case-by-case approach to fee waivers, I cannot accept the amendment.