Mr. Waseem Yousaf:

I will read Mr. Younis's statement:

My name is Mohammed Younis. I came to Ireland in 2003 on a work permit to work as a tandoori chef for Poppadom restaurant. For the first few years, I was paid 55 cent an hour. I worked 77 hours a week and got no day off except Christmas Day. I did not know many people as I stayed with my employer for most of the time. My employer failed to renew my work permit and I was left undocumented in the country. I got help from a fellow restaurant worker who brought me to MRCI and the centre brought my case with me to the Labour Court and I won an award of €92,000. I have never received a penny from this money owed to me for my work. My employer took the Labour Court to the High Court and said he did not have to pay me because the contract of employment could not be recognised as I was undocumented. The High Court upheld this but asked the Government to look at the loophole in the law. I am appealing this decision to the Supreme Court now.
I met with Minister Bruton and he promised me that he would address this problem so no other workers would have to suffer like I did. I thank him for his stated commitment. I am glad that at least my case exposed this gap and that this Bill will allow some undocumented workers to seek compensation orders for unpaid wages from the court. My fear is this does not go far enough. The Bill must ensure that all exploited undocumented workers can access the court. This is the only way we will make sure no one else is treated like I was. I urge you to consider strengthening the proposal in the Bill to include all workers subjected to exploitation. Thank you.

I have worked with Mr. Younis as a translator and the MRCI. I have felt his feeling and the trauma he went through is unexplainable. There are spaces that can be filled to make our society better because at the end of the day this is my home and my country.