Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Níl mé á roinnt. Tá an Teachta O’Reilly ag déileáil leis an reachtaíocht ina dhiaidh sin.

It is interesting what the Minister of State said on the 32,000 work permits that were given last year. I understand it was much higher than that the year before. It is interesting to take that into account when considering the number of applications to the international protection accommodation services, IPAS. Far more people are coming in through work permits and, as the Minister of State said, they are going to work in hospitals, not only in Tralee but throughout the State. They are the people who are staffing our nursing homes, which is a welcome development because we need these people to do the essential work in our community.

The Minister of State mentioned the memo that is being prepared for Cabinet. I am not sure whether he is aware that I tabled a parliamentary question a few weeks ago on that. The reply I received was:

While Ireland has not yet opted-into most of the [asylum migration] Pact measures, with the exception of the European Union Asylum Agency Regulation, other Member States will be bound by them two years after they are adopted. Member States are beginning to prepare their transposing legislation ... for the Pact to go live in 2026. In order ... to implement a more cohesive migration system ... I intend to bring a Memorandum to cabinet [to] opt in to the Pact ...

The Minister of State said that will happen "soon". Does he have any idea when exactly that will be?

This debate is interesting as it showcases the rules-based immigration system, with a clear criteria for those allowed to enter the State. We welcome that, primarily for the reasons I outlined relating to the work that migrants are doing in this country. Sinn Féin's stance is clear; we need to have a migration and asylum system that is firm, fair and enforced, and the contributions migrants make on this island recognised. Our stance is also that Ireland needs to retain subsidiarity on decision-making insofar as it is possible. Nowhere is that more important than with respect to education, the jobs market and immigration. Nowhere are the contributions of migrants more important or more vital than in the area of critical skills. We need to do what we can through the education system to, in the first instance, upskill those living here to fill skilled and semi-skilled roles. In most instances, young people are educated and trained here and then go to see other countries, which have more wages to offer them and where there is cheaper housing, higher wages or both. That is no doubt a factor that is taken into account by the migrants who come to the State. This is a product of policies pursued by the Government.

There is a lot of emigration and immigration, but the record high number of visas granted for Australia tell a tale. Many of our young people, once they are educated, seek to leave because establishing any sort of future in this State is becoming more and more difficult. It is quite depressing in some rural areas, especially in the county where I live, to see the number of younger, trained, professional people, and those with trades, who are leaving the country in their droves. The Government can play politics with the statistics all they like, but it is out of touch not to acknowledge the experience of migration in communities. That is not to say that with a better outlook we would be able to meet the demand for skilled workers through our own education system. There is a place for skilled migrants, especially in a world where capital and opportunities flow easily across borders. In this context, where the EU has a series of external and internal borders, as well as multiple educational and training systems, some common recognition across these borders is important. That the scheme is voluntary, and is aimed at meeting labour needs and improving Europe's ability to attract sought-after skills, as well as being comparatively cheap, is also crucial.

Two important transformations were mentioned in the briefing paper we received, namely, a transition to net-zero emissions and to digital. We understand the meaning of the first and are all agreed on the requirement to decarbonise but the transformation to digital begs a wider question about what this means and what role critical skills will have within it. In examining the Commission's information on the scheme, I was unable to find out exactly what is meant by this.

Another area where there are more clear requirements is within hospitality, food, tourism and accommodation. It goes without saying that County Kerry is economically dependent on the industries of food, tourism and accommodation. This was confirmed by yesterday's GeoDirectory Commercial Buildings Report, which stated that Kerry has the most premises dedicated to these industries in the entire State at 24% of all commercial lets and units in the county. The vacancy rates in Tralee and Listowel, however, are nearly double the rates in other parts of the county. The presence of so much vacancy shows the lack of effect of the Government's town centre first plan, which is part of the programme for Government. The rates of vacancy in Tralee and Listowel, for example, are equivalent to those in the counties that appear as worst in the GeoDirectory report.

Town centres need to be prioritised. Certain services, such as Tralee courthouse, should not be removed from the centres of towns and the council in Kerry needs to work proactively with State organisations and the HSE, not only to keep services in town centres, but to encourage more people in by talking and working proactively with the HSE, for example. If the HSE has a unit and wants to move somewhere, why not move it into a town centre? Great work was done with the ETB in County Kerry to move offices into the centre of town, with a resulting benefit to shops, cafés and restaurants in and around the town centre. In a public sector town, such as Tralee, it is incumbent on the public sector to have the town centre first in mind when seeking to open new units. We have a site in Tralee, the Denny's site, which was granted by Kerry Group to the old Tralee town council but, ten years on, absolutely nothing has been put in apart from a nice garden, while the council and the Courts Service work together to move the courtrooms from one side of the town centre to the other.

In addition, property owners cannot be allowed to sit on vacant properties for years. The dereliction in town centres throughout the country is contributed to by the fact that no extra rate, or no rate at all, is levied on buildings and owners of buildings when the building is technically for sale, often for years, but allowed to lie vacant.

On the issue of the common good of town centres, if we are to have a serious town centre first policy, then the Government should be proactively levying a rate to punish, or at least penalise, owners for leaving their properties vacant and bringing down the appearance of the town centre.

This matter obviously ties back in with proposals for the talent pool. Businesses in County Kerry struggle to find skilled staff to work in their premises, including chefs, front-of-house staff and sommeliers, all of whom are currently needed. A pilot scheme for the talent pool currently operates in certain countries and some member states. The professions that will be recruited through the pool are supposed to be guided by an analysis of the areas where the EU, as a whole, is lacking in skills. This is where subsidiarity is important. The interaction between this proposal and the forthcoming migration pact is also important.

As I said before, it is important that Ireland retains subsidiarity as much as possible, especially given our labour market needs will be different to other member states and the EU as a whole. We especially need more details on the single permit directive. There may be assurances that member states will retain autonomy over how many third-country workers each state can admit but the journey towards having a single permission for employment and residence does need to be carefully monitored. When can we expect to see the memo the Minister of State mentioned?

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