Ms Edel McGinley:

Yes. When people have work permit, they must work for their employer for one year but after that year they can change employer, in theory. There is a difference between theory and practice, which is misunderstood. If one wants to change one's employer, one must find a new employer who will apply for a work permit that costs €1,000.

The worker has to fulfil what is known as the 50:50 rule and has to fulfil a labour market test. The worker has to get assistance to apply for that if English is not the first language. We have been working for 19 years with people who come to us to access help to get work permits and change work permits. It is very difficult for applicants unless they have supports. It is not an effective way. While it is possible in theory, technically it is quite difficult because of the fear of losing immigration status and because immigration status is directly tied to the work permit, this acts as a massive barrier for people. Obviously, no one wants to be undocumented in the State. We did not mention undocumented workers but there are some undocumented workers working in the meat industry as well. It is not an effective way to change employment.