With this Bill, I take the opportunity to put the employment permit system on a sound statutory footing. Section 2 was first introduced as an amendment to the Immigration Bill 2002, introduced in this House by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform late last year. The introduction of that provision was intended to remedy a very basic defect in existing law – the absence of a specific offence and related penalty that can be applied to an employer who knowingly employs a person not entitled to work in the State without an employment permit. However, as it is proposed that the Bill before us will be enacted before the Immigration Bill 2002, I am now taking this opportunity to include this section in the Bill before us. It will subsequently be deleted from the Immigration Bill 2002. I suggest this gives greater coherence to the proposed measures now before the House.