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

I move amendment No. 33:

In page 40, line 23, to delete “12 months” and substitute “a period to be prescribed (which period shall be not less than 6 and not more than 12 months)

Amendment No. 33 is a technical amendment which removes the 12-month minimum requirement to be with the first employer and inserts provision for the period to be prescribed, subject to a period of between six and 12 months. The rationale for this amendment is to operationalise in the Bill the headline rules for the change of employer provisions. This group of amendments provides for the inclusion of rules of refusal for the change of employer and change of approved seasonal employer provisions. These are broadly based on the provisions already in place concerning the refusal reasons for the consideration of general employment permits. As such, the majority of amendments here are consequential, cross-reference and technical amendments to provide for the inclusion of those topics and to update the language to ensure consistency of language across the Bill.

I draw the House's attention to one particular amendment which contains specific additional conditions. This is amendment No. 36 which inserts refusal reasons in the application for a seasonal employment permit where the employer has not complied with the scheme rules in relation to accommodation and health insurance. This is an important refusal reason which does not exist for the general employment permits but is proposed to be inserted to ensure adherence to the rules of the seasonal employment permits, as was laid out in the earlier debate.

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