Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I probably should have said at the outset that I wish the Minister of State well in her position. I understand those answers were prepared for her but what I really need an answer on is the competitive nature by which the work permit is structured. It is not competitive. It is anything but that. It is anti-competitive. We need to address this in the context of the particular sector we are discussing. We are probably the only island nation that is affected in this way. We are not connected to mainland Europe other than through a very expensive shipping route. This is as much about Ireland Inc. as it is about its workforce. Nobody is taking advantage and nobody wants to pay less but the unfortunate reality is that because we are that step away from mainland Europe we have significant issues to consider in the competitive sphere. I know that both of the Minister of State’s colleagues will have addressed this before but really serious consideration needs to be given to that meeting and what was brought to her at it. From our perspective, it is more difficult to recruit work permit drivers simply because of the countries we were given, including South Africa, Japan and Korea. None of them are advantageous. Another thing that needs to be addressed is that if people who come here on a work permit should not be able to swap and change companies. The time they are here should be spent with the company that they are recruited for. There must be some structure to prevent that practice.

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