Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy is making reasonable points. The key issue in the legislation that is now pending is how we accommodate the Deputy's concerns in terms of enhancing the empowerment of the employee in the relationship between employer and employee in the context of a work permit. Traceability is an important factor in terms of the protection of an employee. This is something we will probably discuss in the context of the Bill. If an employee holds the work permit, the element of traceability becomes more difficult and one may not become aware of a range of abuses that could be carried out in respect of certain employees.

I accept the point that we must enhance and empower the employee to a much greater extent. We are examining the modality for doing that in the context of the application for work permits. In the proposed legislation it is my intention to give much greater freedom of mobility to employees to go to other employments and to make much greater statutory provision of information in terms of entitlements, salaries and so on.

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