Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Petition No. 27 of 2023, entitled "Who will guard the guards themselves?", is from Ciaran McMahon. The petition relates to the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 and its potential to quell opposition on topical issues such as climate change, gender and so on. The petitioner suggests that a solution for modern hate could be banning social media for under-18s, ID requirements for social media platforms and stand-your-ground protections.

The case manager wrote to the Department of Justice and received a response. In its response, the Department states that, through the Bill, it is keen to deliver the best possible legislation to protect vulnerable and minority communities and to assure them the horrendous crimes perpetrated against them because of who they are will not be tolerated. The Department assures the petitioner that all provisions have been carefully developed to ensure it is balanced, victim centred and effective in securing convictions where serious crimes are committed. The Department states this new legislation does not make it an offence to hold or express opinions or views that others may find offensive or shocking, regardless of the nature of those views. Under the new provisions, it will be an offence only when those views are used to incite violence or hatred against another person or group.

The committee recommends the correspondence from the Department of Justice be forwarded to the petitioner for information. Do members have any views? Is that agreed? Agreed.

Next is petition No. 28 of 2023, which calls for the improvement of the atypical working scheme, AWS, permits application process. The petition asks for the removal of the obstacles overseas nurses face as a result of unreasonable delays and the questionably high rejection rate of the AWS application process. Migrant Nurses Ireland, MNI, an organisation representing migrant nurses, is extremely concerned by the current state of affairs. These issues are causing severe difficulties for the nurses in question and are profoundly impacting their employment and, in many cases, ability to support themselves and their families. The nurses were asked to resign from their existing jobs in order to accept potential employment in Ireland by Irish healthcare employers and recruitment agencies. Furthermore, the group received information that the atypical working scheme unit has increased the timeframe for AWS application from 20 days to more than 30 working days and this decision has affected the applicants even more. The delay in processing AWS applications has significantly impacted other elements of the nursing registration process for applicants.

The case manager wrote to the Department of Justice. In its reply, the Department states, among other matters, that the atypical working scheme is designed to accommodate the arrival of non-EEA nationals to fill short-term labour gaps for the benefit of the economy. In recognition of the importance of front-line medical personnel, the AWS unit prioritises these applications. There has been unprecedented demand for AWS permissions this year, with a significant increase in the number of applications for healthcare workers. The number of applications received in the first six months of 2023 is 5,376. This represents an increase of 65% on the number of applications received in the same period in 2022.