Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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Earlier this year, representatives of the fishing sector from across Ireland sailed to the ports of Cork and Dublin and called for fair quotas. They called for protection of the future of the industry and sector. Among those fishers were many from non-EU countries. Together with their fellow crew members and friends, they called for fairer quotas and the protection of the future of the fishing industry. I was there. I heard the speeches, met the non-EU fishers and talked to them and they called together in one voice for the end of the atypical scheme that has not served them well. They called for this because the scheme is flawed. It is not working.

I ask the Minister of State to immediately enact the process to end the atypical scheme and replace it with a scheme that works, protects non-EU workers and removes the constant fear of deportation in which they live. It is so they do not have to go through the bureaucratic, arduous process of reapplying year after year to get back into the atypical scheme or back into contracts and have the same rights as their fellow crew members and friends, with whom they are shoulder to shoulder and side by side on these boats doing quite dangerous, hard work. Will the Minister of State please listen to the calls of the fishing sector and the non-EU fishers in the industry, who we need because fishing has been seen time and time again as a less viable way of earning an income? They need to have a scheme that works for them, protects them and serves them. I ask the Minister of State to begin that process straight away. I thank the Minister of State.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the important matter of the atypical working scheme. I know the fishing industry and community is hugely important to the Deputy and he has raised this matter with me on a number of occasions. I have always been struck by his compassion for the industry, the fishermen, the employees and the communities.

As a result of the Deputy and other Deputies raising this important issue, I have had discussions with the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy English, and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue. The Deputy will be aware that in 2015 the Government established an interdepartmental task force with the objective of formulating a co-ordinated and effective cross-government response to the issues raised on the employment of undocumented non-EEA crew members in the Irish fishing fleet. It was highlighted at the time by The Guardian.

The culmination of the work was the development of a new sector-specific scheme that involved putting in place detailed contracts between the vessel owners and non-EEA nationals with a series of built-in protections and obligations. This was the atypical working scheme which, at the time, was welcomed as an immediate solution to the risk of exploitation and to guarantee employment rights and protections to non-EEA fishers availing of the scheme while ensuring fisher employers were able to recruit staff. It set down minimum terms and conditions of employment applicable to non-EEA fishers which are in line with the general statutory terms and conditions of workers more generally in the State.

A memorandum of understanding for the monitoring and enforcement of the scheme was put in place between all relevant parties to ensure that the various bodies with oversight of the sector were part of the solution. The scheme applies to crew members working on licensed and registered fishing vessels in the polyvalent, beamer and specific segments of the Irish fishing fleet for vessels of more than 15 m in length overall and who are not currently eligible for an employment permit issued by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Permission holders under the scheme can make a request to change to a different employer licensed under the scheme at any time during their permission. They do not need to leave the State in order to do this. The scheme requires that the new crew member be provided with a copy of their contract of employment in both English and in their native language by their employer. However, the scheme is now more than five years old. It was brought in as a response to issues highlighted at the time but a review is timely.

As I said, I have recently discussed the matter with my colleagues, the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, and the Minister of State, Deputy English, and we have agreed to carry out a review of the scheme. Officials from the three Departments met last week. They are working closely together and will meet again soon to carry the review work forward, agree the terms of the review and look at important issues around the effectiveness of the existing scheme, whether the enforcement is working, whether the scheme has run its course and whether the sector should move to a permit scheme, similar to other sectors.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. It is good news that the Minister of State has met the Minister of State, Deputy English, and the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, and they agreed to review the scheme. I welcome that the Minister of State mentioned the possibility of a permit scheme. That is exactly the type of scheme non-EU workers are looking for, a scheme that would allow them to enter contracts for three years and allow flexibility as opposed to the current rigid, inflexible system. That is welcome news and I thank the Minister of State for the work he has done on that.

I urge the Minister of State to consult. Regarding whatever the terms of a new scheme might look like or what a permit might look like, I urge him to consult with the boat owners, the sector, the Irish and EU crew who work shoulder to shoulder and side by side with the non-EU crew and, most important, consult with the non-EU crew members who contribute so much to the sector, the regions and the coastal towns they live and work in. They need to be consulted in order to get this right. Please do not let language or anything like that be a barrier. In my experience, they want to engage and have their opinions and thoughts heard. I urge the Minister of State to ensure there is consultation in bringing this new scheme together.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I again thank Deputy O'Sullivan for raising this matter on the atypical scheme. I am pleased to confirm that a review of the scheme is being put in place. Coming from a fishing county myself, Wexford, I know how hard and dangerous the fishing sector is for skippers and their employees. The fishing sector is under huge pressure at the moment. I felt that this is something on which the Minister of State, Deputy English, the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, and I could work together quickly and in consultation with the boat owners, skippers, crews and non-EEA employees who are most affected. Most skippers and those involved in the fishing industry want to ensure that the human rights of all employees are protected. A few rogue employers should not be allowed to run down the entire industry and the fishing community.

We are determined to ensure that the review is done in a timely fashion and in consultation, and that we will look at all of the concerns that are raised on the atypical scheme. The scheme was welcomed on its introduction five years ago because it was necessary to move quickly but after five years it is time to have a full review of how effectively it is working.