Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State and I have spoken many times about issues with visas and permits, relating to everyone from farm workers to chefs. We have also spoken about the workforce advisory group, which is meant to be working to ensure there are enough home carers in the context of permits and visas. There is an acceptance that there is a shortfall of positions across the board and, therefore, there is a need to update this legislation. Even so, we cannot do that at the expense of employees' rights, and that is where we need to see a good deal of interaction from the Minister of State, so I welcome that he indicated that this is going to be the case.

I thank those employees who were employed through these permits during the height of Covid-19. These people played a vital role and we are all very grateful for that. As I said, the employment permits legislation needs to be modernised and we have concerns about how the Government has so far dealt with the Bill. There are some positive elements, such as the index-linking of wage thresholds so as to keep them in line with salary growth, which is very welcome, but the Bill needs many changes to make it fit for purpose, both for employers and for those migrant workers the system could leave vulnerable to exploitation. There is wider work that needs to be done on workforce planning, and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science will have to play a vital role in this regard. It is not just about ensuring that there is enough training; a significant cohort within this State who are well removed from both education and the workforce will probably require work to be done before they are ready for that level of training. That aspect is missing but it is vital in the context of breaking the poverty trap in which people can sometimes find themselves.

As it stands, the Bill is lopsided. It offers much to employers but little to employees. Its focus is primarily on increasing flexibility for employers but we need to see a lot more in order that it will protect workers' rights. Its aims are quite reasonable and fundamentally focus on improving the effectiveness of the permit system in supporting the economy and the labour market, but there continue to be concerns about how the system operates in practice.

I believe members of the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment heard various testimonies that in some cases, the employment rights of workers were neither being observed nor enforced. Others spoke of the uncertainty workers face regarding their future prospects and how they are overlooked for training and upskilling opportunities, leaving them unable to avail of alternative job options. This is not okay. Recommendations were made by the committee on how the Bill could be improved. We have not quite seen that in the legislation in front of us. That needs to be fixed.

Workers employed through the general employment permit scheme should be granted the same rights as those employed with critical skills permits. Why should those employed through general permits be unable to access the labour market after two years but rather must wait five years? If these employees must wait five years, they are stuck in possible exploitative and substandard working conditions.

There was a particular concern regarding the introduction of seasonal employment permits. It was suggested that the general employment permit should be adopted instead to meet this need. There are a number of recommendations. I welcome the fact that the Minister of State said he will interact with us. There is much work to be done to make this legislation fit for purpose.

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