Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and commend the multi-strand approach that has been taken, which is prudent and appropriate. The primary concern, as she herself said, is to ensure continuity for those who are very much reliant on their social protection payments and that whatever the concerns might be or if it is the case that we end up having a hard Brexit, we try to bridge that scenario. That will be important. The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is probably the Department that shows more than others that people will continue to have histories, families and relationships and everything else that spans across both territories. Some of the measures we are proposing to put in place here will ensure that those families, which are the basis of our relationship with our neighbour, are supported.

I have a few specific questions and concerns which the Minister might address. I note she is looking to make regulations, and the habitual residency condition is mentioned. It is very loosely worded here. This is an issue in respect of which a number of other issues are pending on the habitual residency condition that have been raised in the past - for example, the extent of its relationship with child benefit and so forth. Is there perhaps scope within those regulations, even if not now, to address some of these issues? That is one issue. The issue of ensuring we have that comprehensive cover was already raised. I refer to all assistance payments and entitlements.

The Minister might address the issue of paternity, maternity and parental leave. I am conscious that we have parental leave legislation that may almost dovetail with the entitlements, so it is a matter of ensuring compatibility between those allowances. We are moving out of the simple area of payments and into the area of payments and rights and entitlements. Perhaps the Minister could say whether those issues have been addressed.

This brings me to the fact, which she rightly pointed out, that there has been a long history of social co-operation on these areas since the 1920s. We also have the Good Friday Agreement and the rights pillar within it. Social welfare payments in respect of disability and certain other areas are in a way part of the way in which we vindicate that rights component.

There are a number of areas where we are giving regulations in respect of third countries. Perhaps it is a question of how this fits with the UK versus other third-country parties and how we balance that.

Data protection concerns are addressed somewhat under head 7, which concerns the exchange of information. It notes that it will be compatible with the GDPR, but perhaps the Minister might expand on this a little. She knows we have discussed this issue in the past. I am keen that we have a system that functions but how can we ensure there is clarity on the purposes for which the information is exchanged to ensure that the Bill is robust under the GDPR, particularly in respect of EU citizens based in Ireland? While every Irish person is an EU citizen, I refer to citizens of other EU countries and so forth. I am just conscious that we must plan to address the issue of people who may effectively have triple-part pensions. There may be those who have a pension from Germany, the UK and Ireland, for example.

Regarding head 12, under which the area of employment is dealt with, I recognise and I think it is positive that there are measures regarding frontier workers, how they are defined and the question of the employment rights in the case of any decision. However, what wider provision is made in this regard? This relates not only to this Bill, but also to what we all hope will happen, which is an agreed Brexit, and employment standards, which are within the Minister's remit. These are two very specific, small employment issues that are addressed, but there are a number of other employment issues - for example, situations in which British companies are contracted under public procurement and may have contracts with the State. How do we ensure that employment standards are maintained and that anyone who has been paid by the Irish State - in a five-year contract, for example - does not see any diminishment of employment standards?