Tom Morrissey (Progressive Democrats)

The only issuing authority for a permit is the Department which issues a permit in the name of the employer. It is unlikely an employer will inadvertently receive a hoax permit. Hoax permits are black and white copies of the original green, stamped form. I have seen them and it is obvious they are photocopies of doctored permits. An employer can only receive a permit if he or she has applied to the Department for one.

The Minister could take steps to remove much of the fraud in this area. I fail to understand, for example, the reason it takes six weeks to get a permit. The application form is a four page document which requires limited information on matters such as the name of the company and the employee. The six weeks required to process applications has generated an industry in hoax documents.

During the debate on the Refugee Bill in the House the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform spoke on the issue of asylum. Asylum applications are now processed in less than six weeks, yet much more information must be supplied, linguists are required to interpret and so forth. The Department's resources should be focused on reducing the time required to process an application. This would ensure employers would no longer seek ways to circumvent the regulations when they urgently require employees. Many employers cannot afford to wait for six weeks, not to speak of the four weeks they must wait once they have advertised a position with FÁS, to fill a vacancy, especially if the position is unskilled or for a short period, for instance, 12 months. I ask the Minister to address this issue.

There is only one issuing authority. Employers do not receive permits in the post from bodies or individuals other than the Department. Persons in possession of a permit not issued by the Department will be breaking the law once this Bill which proposes to eliminate the industry in fraudulent permits once and for all is enacted.