Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the point made by the Deputy on Committee Stage and again just now. While I take on board her concerns, my position is no different than that of my predecessor, Deputy English. As discussed on Committee Stage, the amendment proposes to delete section 4, which would remove the legislative basis for the Minister to make regulations on operational matters to enable the smooth functioning of the permits system. This would negatively affect the agility required under the 2018 review of economic migration policy to ensure the system remains fit for purpose into the future. The Minister would no longer have the power to make regulations in regard to key operational matters, which would render the system inoperable.

One of the major achievements in the context of Committee Stage was the agreement on the need to move certain aspects of the Bill into secondary legislation. This was done with a view to strengthening the flexibility and responsiveness of a major part of the State's economic migration mechanism in order to keep up with our dynamic labour market. There is no intention to make regulations in a non-transparent manner. The approach agreed on Committee Stage recognised that having the entire operation of the employment permits system detailed in primary legislation would hamper the filling of talent gaps in a timely manner. It is not the case that regulations are never scrutinised. Indeed, regulations are generally subject to great scrutiny and public consultation.

I reiterate Deputy English's commitment to work with Members on introducing regulations and to have conversations and reach agreement on bringing them forward. The advice given when developing legislation is that regulations make the operation of schemes more flexible than doing so in primary legislation. For these reasons, I cannot accept the amendment.

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