Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I know that in recent times the minimum wage law is being enforced and that if any cases are brought to the attention of the authorities, they are pursued vigorously. The new work permit legislation simply provides for the new regime that exists, in particular since the enlargement of the European Union when permits became an exception. Permits are mainly for higher skilled workers because we should be able to meet all our labour needs from the existing EU 25. This will expand further over time. The intention of the work permit or green card type concept is to give more control to employees and allow them to move more freely between jobs. Workers from EU countries do not require a permit, but I accept that the Turkish workers do. However, many of the other examples given are of people from existing EU countries such as Poland. These provisions will not apply to them.

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