Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I recognise both speakers. It is not that I have anything against what is in the Bill. In most cases the provisions are in legislation already. The Deputy is saying he is disappointed I am not supporting his Bill. He might recognise that there is existing legislation in place to cover most of what he has asked. On the one area where this is not the case, I have explained why we cannot accept his proposals. When we are bringing legislation through I will see if we can do any more to strengthen that piece. We have to try to protect the system. If we do not recognise that workers are supposed to have a permit and that there is a strong permit scheme in operation, it might lead to other abuses and that could leave migrants in more vulnerable situations. Having a really strong permit scheme that is well monitored and well operated with strong conditions of employment providing access to our employment legislation is the best way to protect migrant workers. If we dilute that in any way, we put them at more risk. I am not saying the Deputy is trying to do that but it is one of the unintended consequences of the Bill. I am happy to engage with all Deputies as we bring the new employment permits Bill through the House and update the legislation. There is a chance for conversations there. As proposed in this Bill, it will not achieve what the Deputies want to achieve. In most cases the law already exists to protect workers and deal with the concerns the Deputies have raised. I do recognise that there is a genuine effort here to bring forward changes and I am happy to tease through the bits that we could accommodate at a later stage.

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