Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Clearly, Ms Ward is talking about agility in terms of employers having more options in hiring people, abusing the work permit process.

In a point raised by Peter Rigney a couple of years ago, is there a danger that, despite having some fine people in the Department, it is really speaking for the sectors as opposed to the workers concerned? Is there a danger of regulatory capture? I do not see any evidence of agility for workers in the proposed legislation. I see that a whole host of recommendations was made two years and Ms Ward has confirmed today that each one of them has been rejected. There has been no increase in the number of workplace inspectors, which is far too low. No role has been given to the Labour Court in setting wages. There has been no openness and transparency on how those wages are set. Does Ms Ward understand my concerns?