Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 16:

In page 8, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following:" 'civil partnership registration' has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 2010;
‘connected’, in relation to the connection between a connected person and a foreign employer, means—
(a) the connected person is a subsidiary of the foreign employer,
(b) the foreign employer is a subsidiary of the connected person,
(c) the connected person and the foreign employer are both subsidiaries of a holding company that carries on business in the State or outside the State, or
(d) the connected person and the foreign employer have entered into an agreement with another person whereby each of them agree to carry on business or provide services with each other in more than one state and to carry on business or provide services in the manner provided for in the agreement;”.

The Bill explicitly provides for a permit type in intra-company transfer situations. While the intra-company transfer employment permit holder's employer is outside the State, that is a foreign employer, the employment permit holder is carrying out duties for, or participating in a training programme with, the connected person, that is the Irish entity.
The provisions of the Bill regarding to intra-company transfer employment permits must respect the employer-employee contractual relationship that exists between the foreign employer and intra-company transfer employment permit holder. For this reason, any reference in the Bill to the connected person, that could suggest that it was the employer, have been removed and a number of sections redrafted accordingly.
Amendment No. 16 defines the term "connected", which refers to the affiliation between a foreign and an Irish company for the purposes of granting an intra-company transfer employment permit. The intention of the amendment is to tighten up and more clearly define the nature of the connections between the foreign employer and connected person, and consequently the definition of the terms "holding company" at amendment No. 21 and "subsidiary" at amendment No. 23 are required.
Amendment No. 16 also defines "civil partnership registration" in terms of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010. The term is used throughout the Bill in the context of the dependant, partner or spouse employment permit. Amendment No. 21 also defines the terms "health insurance", "health insurer" and "medical treatment" as these terms need to be defined in the context of the revised definition of remuneration at amendment No. 24, which I will address later.
Amendments Nos. 17 and 20 further amend the definitions of connected person and foreign employer and are consequential to amendment No. 16. Amendment No. 22 is consequential to amendment No. 23. Amendments Nos. 29 to 31, inclusive, are drafting amendments and are consequential. Amendment No. 48 is a consequential technical amendment.
Amendment No. 49 provides for sector-specific employment permits. Amendment No. 50 provides for the duration of an employment permit in respect of an intra-company transfer to be set out on that permit. Amendment No. 52 specifies the persons to whom copies of an employment permit should issue. With regard to amendments Nos. 72 and 104, it is critical that the Minister is satisfied that the intra-company transfer employment permit holder is adequately provided for in terms of board and-or accommodation for the duration of the permit holder's stay in the State.
Amendments Nos. 99 to 101, inclusive, are consequential technical amendments. Amendment No. 103 brings the connected person and relevant person, that is, the person in the State with whom a contractor has entered into a contract of service, into the scope of the revocation provisions of section 16 of the Act of 2006. Amendment No. 107 is a technical amendment and is consequential to amendment No. 106.
Amendment No. 108 is consequential to the treatment of the intra-company transfer in the Bill. It provides that the Minister may revoke-----