Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The point is that the Government is acting now. In a very short period we have brought the relevant Departments and agencies together to address this egregious issue. We now have a system in place in which everyone can have confidence. I compliment the members of the task force from a range of Departments who were involved in this for their efficacy and for the delivery of this outcome in such a short timeframe. As I said, I will be chairing a sub-group of the relevant enforcement agencies because inspection and enforcement is absolutely critical to the success of the scheme.

We must put the position of the non-EEA workers at the very centre of our concerns and we have done that. We have now, for the first time, established that all non-EEA workers who are operating on a permit under the new system will enjoy all of the protections of an employee. Their terms and conditions will come under the remit of the relevant inspection agencies in my Department.

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