Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

So there have been reports that fishing industry representatives have sought to increase the number of permits from 500 to 1,000. I do not know whether they have made representations to the relevant Minister. It seems to me that is in contradiction to the initial response to the fishing industry representatives which was to be extremely dismissive, a bit like the Government at that stage saying that this was not really happening and, therefore, it would not make sense to call for an increase in the number of permits. I wish to ask the Minister of State two questions which relate to workers' rights. I welcome the fact that they will be covered under employment legislation. First, will he agree that it is wrong for the permit to be tied to a particular employer as it makes it difficult for an employee to whistleblow on an employer, to speak out about their conditions, because of the threat that they will lose the permit and lose the right to stay in the country? Second, will he agree that all those who are in Ireland should be offered an amnesty in terms of migration in order to encourage people to speak out about their conditions?

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