Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

Thousands of workers in our bars and restaurants are being told to leave the country by the end of the month as the Department of Justice is refusing to give a simple extension until September for those on stamp 2 visas. This means thousands of people will have to leave their accommodation and jobs for the summer. When they return next September they will have to try to find new apartments and new jobs when their new courses begin. It is a ludicrous situation. The English Language Students Union, ELSU, is calling for a three month extension to stamp 2 visas to tide people over until September. It is a very simple measure but I understand that so far the Department of Justice has absolutely refused to budge. Will the Taoiseach intervene this week to grant this extension before it is too late, to give workers peace of mind and before they have packed up and left?

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