Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

On Committee Stage, when we discussed an amendment proposing that reviews of decisions to refuse a permit could be the subject of an appeal to the Ombudsman, it was agreed that we would revisit the issue on Report Stage. Section 5(1)(e) of the Ombudsman Act 1980 states that the Ombudsman shall not investigate any action taken by or on behalf of a person if such an action is one taken in the administration of the law relating to naturalisation and the entry of foreign nationals, in other words, immigration, including economic migration arrangements. The office of the Ombudsman has confirmed that it does not have a role or function in reviewing an executive decision by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to refuse or revoke an employment permit, which is an executive function. The office of the Ombudsman has pursued complaints relating to immigration matters in the past but these related solely to administrative actions, for example, delays or failure to provide adequate information about decisions. Accordingly, I do not propose to accept this amendment.

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