Ms Edel McGinley:

I thank the Deputy for his question. What happened during the pandemic was very welcome. For years we have been trying to introduce a separation of powers. That is essentially how we can separate powers. We want this model to be expanded into the labour inspectorate. When labour inspectors come into a workplace they should be there to inspect employees' conditions of work, not their immigration status. If employees see inspectors in their workplace, they may mistrust them as they may think they are immigration police who will deport them. The inspectors should be there to inspect their conditions of employment. We want a firewall to be introduced between the immigration service and the labour inspectorate.

We also want the firewalls that have been established in healthcare and social protection to be continued to ensure people have a floor of decency, can access services and overcome some of their fears. People are awfully afraid to approach An Garda Síochána if they are the victim of a crime because they may be issued with a letter notifying them of an intention to deport order. The expansion of the firewall model would be good for society from a crime prevention perspective and for the economy in terms of rooting out exploitation. It is good for our healthcare system because people need to have access to healthcare for their long-term health. The same applies to schools and all sectors of society. If people are asked for a personal public service number and do not have it, they will not engage with the service in question again unless they have supports and people to help them to navigate the service. That is where we normally step in and provide assistance to people. Putting those rights into the hands of people is, ultimately, is what we want to see happen.