Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Murphy and Dr. McGann for presenting the IBEC position today. We had the general scheme discussion a fortnight ago with officials from the Department appearing before the committee. I raised some of the concerns that the IBEC deputation raised today relating to certain sectors that are going to be exempt from applying for the worker permits. I gave an example relating to the hospitality and health care sectors. There is no automatic entitlement or qualification. I would be interested to hear a little more from IBEC on the potential long-term damage that could be done to these sectors if they continue to be prohibited from providing work permits.