Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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We have discussed this matter already. I have been very clear in my opposition to facilitating the Minister of the day with the power to change and amend the employment permit system by way of regulation. The committee also outlined concerns as part of the pre-legislative scrutiny report. The report stated that while the general scheme aims to enable the employment permit system to respond quickly to changes in economic conditions, moves to prescribe rules in regulation rather than primary legislation could potentially undermine public scrutiny and transparency. For all of the reasons we discussed previously, this is an area that is fraught. I understand that one person's freedom to roam is another person's job insecurity. We have discussed all of the reasons we should be concerned about this. When I look at section 4 it seems this is a fairly limited request and something that could and should be facilitated. In the interests of transparency and openness this should be debated on the floor of the Dáil rather than providing that the Minister may change it by way of regulation.