Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

This amendment is by way of an advance party, so to speak. It brings forward, in a simple and relatively unrefined way, the principle which will be covered in much greater detail by the Bill on employment permits being developed under the aegis of my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Harney.

It has long been a source of concern that there is a great legal imbalance between employer and employee when it comes to the law on the employment of non-nationals. No right-thinking person can agree that it is fair that, while it is an offence for a non-national in general to be in employment without an employment permit, the employer can take such staff on with absolute impunity. The new section in this amendment redresses that imbalance. It sends a clear message to employers that exploitative activity of this nature is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment will not knowingly grant an employment permit where the employer in question is attempting to substitute personnel from outside the European economic area for Irish or other EEA personnel. Not to have a legal sanction against an employer who is illegally employing non-EEA personnel would mean there would be no effective legal sanction to counter undesirable labour substitution. This would certainly help to erode the social consensus in support of legal economic migration, which has been in existence here in recent years. In time this could constitute a threat to social equilibrium at local level. In that context, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has expressed concerns regarding labour substitution to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and has reiterated these concerns in the context of the current partnership talks.

Subsection (1) of the new section simply restates the current law – at Article 4(1) of the Aliens Order 1946, which will be revoked by subsection (13) – making it an offence for a non-national to take up or be in employment unless there is an employment permit issued by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. This restriction does not apply to all non-nationals.