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

Okay. That is a lot less than the one year cooling-off period for relevant designated public officials under the lobbying Act. Of course, Mr. Neville is not covered by that because Deputies are not covered, which again reflects how weak our legislation is regarding the rotating door of people moving from politics to lobbying.

To return to the committee’s recommendations, the fact that even the Minister of State's own party and Government colleagues on the committee endorsed them means these were very minimal asks by the committee. Even then, the Government was not able to accept them. People Before Profit demands much more. We are opposed to the EU’s unjust and racist immigration policies, which the Minister of State, the Government and the Minister of State's European Parliament colleagues have consistently supported. Together with the establishments across Europe, they are responsible for creating and reinforcing a fortress Europe that has caused the deaths of 25,000migrants in the Mediterranean Sea so far, many of them young children. Their only crime was to seek a better life for themselves and their families as generations of Irish people have also been forced to do.

We want nothing less than equal and improved rights for all workers, regardless of nationality or immigration status. Equal pay and conditions for equal work are entirely basic demands. It is an indictment of the capitalist system that we are still fighting for this in 2022 and that it is so generally accepted that migrant workers can be treated as “less than” and discriminated against purely on the basis of their nationality and country of origin. We are opposed to the whole system of employment permits. Tying workers to an employer for any period is a form of bonded labour that leaves them vulnerable to super-exploitation. We will therefore oppose this Bill as it reinforces the State-sanctioned system of worker exploitation, which is what the system of employment permits really is. In doing nothing to improve meaningfully the rights of migrant workers, the Government undermines the rights of the whole working class.

The point is that this is a battle for the entire working class. If we improve the rights of migrant workers and get rid of the super-exploitation that is allowed, that will benefit all workers. When the horrific exploitation of Turkish workers at Gama was exposed and was defeated by an organised struggle and strike led by socialists and the workers themselves, that was a blow for all workers. Similarly, the whole workers' movement needs to stand united against these permits, against this super-exploitation of migrant workers and for workers' rights for all.

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