Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I indicated, I expect to have a draft of the Bill soon. We are in the final stages of the process and it appears that we will have it imminently. I hope we will have it before the end of the session. We will certainly make it available for the very start of the new session.

Mr. Justice Hogan reversed a Labour Court award having found that the contract of employment was illegal as Mr. Younis did not have an employment permit. The judge noted that the Employment Permits Act made it an offence for certain employees to work without a permit. The Acts do not provide for any defence for an employee which suggested to the court that it could not take into account mitigating circumstances and had no discretion to consider the contract of employment as other than illegal. The result, arguably, was that the employer benefited from the illegal contract. There are procedures for pursuing employers who seek to abuse the system. Clearly, there is a lacuna in that there has not been a defence for the employee. That is what we are seeking to correct in the legislation. The Bill will be before the House as soon as I can bring it forward. The Deputy will know about the frustrations of the legislative process, but we are at the end in this case.

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