Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 60: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if, in regard to the number of proceedings commenced and convictions obtained from 2003 to 30 October 2007 for offences under the Employment Permits Act 2003, he will break down the proceedings and convictions against employers and employees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31153/07]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Employment Permits Acts 2003 and 2006, it is illegal to employ a non-EEA national without an employment permit where one is required. These Acts provide for a large number of obligations and offences, including those relating to the employment of foreign nationals except in accordance with an employment permit, refusal to co-operate with Garda inquiries, forgery, fraudulent alteration or fraudulent use of an employment permit, and misuse by employer or employee of an employment permit. Prosecutions under these Acts have been initiated by the Garda Síochána, which comes under the auspices of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has provided details of the proceedings commenced and convictions secured under the Employment Permits Act 2003. In 2003, 90 proceedings commenced, with eight convictions; in 2004, 81 proceedings commenced, with 20 convictions; in 2005, 73 proceedings commenced, with 45 convictions; in 2006, 45 proceedings commenced, with seven convictions; and in 2007, three proceedings commenced, with one conviction. I understand no proceedings have commenced to date for offences under the Employment Permits Act 2006, which commenced on 1 January 2007.

With regard to the breakdown of these proceedings and convictions into those against employers and those against employees, I am informed the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has made inquiries with the Garda authorities but it has not been possible in the timeframe available to obtain the statistical information requested. This information will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is available.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I thank the Minister for his reply, which is very similar to the response given on 24 October. Unfortunately, since that time the Minister's colleagues in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform have not been able to provide the breakdown asked for.

Is it not time for the Department, or a relevant sub-agency within the Department, to take on the responsibility for proceedings, as the Revenue Commissioners have done? All of us have enough experience of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to realise this is very low on its priorities. It will not enter into prosecutions of this kind because the matter is low on the scale of criminality as far as the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform is concerned.

I appreciate that the breakdown of employees and employers will be sent to me but the Minister might respond to my net question. There should be teeth to initiate prosecutions in order to give effective policing of the labour market, of which this is a part, along with the welcome addition of the labour inspectorate, or we will not go the final mile. If the Department depends on the Garda and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, there will be no value for the increase in inspections of the labour market.

Will the Minister consider taking back or giving the Department a power to initiate prosecutions, as the Revenue Commissioners have done? It was previously dependent on other agencies.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I agree with the Deputy and the Employment Permits Act 2006 gives me those teeth. It states "the Minister may appoint in writing such and so many of his or her officers to be authorised officers for the purposes of all or any of the provisions of this Act or the Act of 2003". It was a gap in the 2003 legislation that the issue of prosecution was left to An Garda.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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These people will not wake up in the middle of the night thinking they must deal with the issue.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The GAMA episode, which may still be in the Supreme Court, made this matter crystal clear for me. We were quite vulnerable to legal challenge, even in the compilation of a report. I have instructed my officials that the national employment rights agency, NERA, will be the agency to prosecute for breaches of the Employment Permits Act2006.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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When will that come into effect?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Bill to give NERA statutory provision is being drafted currently by the Parliamentary Counsel, and it should be placed on a statutory footing in early 2008. The overall approach is to build compliance. NERA is in discussions currently with the GNIB——

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I welcome the Minister's reply but I am conscious of the time. When NERA is brought into effect, can the provision be activated from the first day? Will the Minister undertake to do so?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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They are authorised officers of my Department so I can activate it. I have had discussions with NERA on this specific issue last week. The GNIB still has a significant role to play because there is a migration aspect to this. A benefit of this Act, which will give us more teeth, is the capacity for the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Social and Family Affairs and my Department to work collaboratively on a specific sector or a particular company. This has already had an impact, particularly in the construction sector.

The message for anybody out there who wishes to break employment permit or labour law is that we will bring the whole house down on top of them.

Tom Sheahan (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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Question 61: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will ease the restrictions on work permits for nursing homes seeking work permits for nurses and carers, as many nursing homes are having difficulty filling posts since the process was changed in February 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31302/07]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Under the new employment permit arrangements I launched earlier this year, registered nurses and specialist nurses are both occupations for which green cards may be issued for posts with an annual salary over €30,000. Nurses must be fully qualified and registered with An Bord Altranais. In 2007 to the end of October, a total of 1,331 employment permits have issued in respect of nurses, of which the majority would have been green cards.

The work permit scheme, on the other hand, is designed to address labour shortages and, accordingly, it is not normally required that work permit holders would be expected to have a third level education. All work permit holders are however required to possess skills and experience appropriate to their position.

The Deputy should note that only in exceptional circumstances are new work permits issued for positions where the annual salary is less than €30,000. In contrast to the green card system, a labour market needs test is applied for each case. In 2007 to the end of January , a total of 1,083 employment permits have issued in respect of carers and nurses' aides, with 375 new applicants and 708 renewals.

With regard to nursing homes, if the Irish Nursing Homes Association has concerns about the new system, we are open to having discussions to facilitate the concerns.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I am not sure if the Minister has yet had an opportunity to meet with representatives of the Irish Nursing Homes Association. If he has not done so, I hope he will as soon as possible. This is an issue in which I have an interest and am involved. Since the introduction of the new rules in February this year, there has been a clear problem for many nursing homes in meeting the 50% rules and in getting carers or nurses who would, in general, be paid less than €30,000.

It is possible a number of nursing homes will have to close wards or curtail numbers in the coming months, particularly as longer-standing Filipino staff go on maternity leave or go on holidays later in the summer. It is an emerging problem in a sector with a long history of Filipino and Indian nurses, in particular, coming to Ireland to work in nursing homes. Labour is not necessarily available from other EU countries.

I am not sure if the Minister has received a request for a meeting yet from the Irish Nursing Homes Association but if he has, I encourage him to meet with a delegation as soon as possible. If he has not yet received an invitation, he will shortly.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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My officials discussed the matter this morning and we understand the association may have articulated the difficulties outlined by the Deputy; we will facilitate a meeting to work through a proper system. There has always been a specific allowance for health care because it was an area identified repeatedly, along with IT and construction professionals, as having skills shortages.

This must be balanced with ensuring there is no exploitation and there is proper policing of rights. We can achieve that balance, and we have dealt with other sectors. The €30,000 limit can be a bit high if one considers initial trainees in some instances but we are flexible in facilitating measures for a genuine need, without in any way compromising basic and proper standards in accordance with our labour laws.