Tom Morrissey (Progressive Democrats)

I want to see the figure that was entered for salary. It is only when we learn that figure that we will know the amount to which Gama workers are entitled, and what balance should be in these infamous accounts.

I do not know of any small or medium-sized Irish company which has also engaged in this practice and I would be amazed if there are other people engaging in it. If they are doing so, it would have to be with the knowledge of the employee.

We bring migrant workers here who, through no fault of their own, have a big disadvantage in terms of language, especially those coming from non-EEA countries. I have witnessed this on a personal basis. We are dependent on these people, and a recent ESRI report proves that we will be dependent on migrant workers for many years to come. As a caring nation it behoves us to ensure that we integrate legal migrant workers who are assisting the State. In many cases, the only way these people interact is by going to Lidl or Aldi, primarily on Saturdays and Sundays, where they can speak their own language or meet friends from other countries.

In a typical small company, such as mine, it is difficult for employers to give advice or proper instructions about machinery. It is also difficult for migrant workers to explain themselves. Some form of State assistance must be made available. It does not have to cost a great deal of money. Language training would help these people to integrate and access State services. It is not good enough that migrant workers would have to go to the local VEC to access language courses. I have spoken to some of these people who are the best people in this country. They have told me they do not see any point in watching television on Saturdays and Sundays. They would rather do something productive. They would not mind going to language courses at the weekend, even at their own expense. That is something we must examine.

I welcome the Minister's reference to permit renewals. In some cases permits might not be renewed after a year, through no fault of the employer. The reason may be due to a downturn in business or some such matter. These people are living here and they have PPS numbers yet they are often forced to go on the run when their permits are not renewed. It is not easy to get another work permit as, technically, people have to go to their home country where the entire process has to begin all over again. Some recognition must be given to a system which allows those people to seek further permits to stay in the country with other employers, without having to go through the laborious process of advertising through FÁS and the workers having to return to their home countries prior to being re-employed in Ireland. Before the Minister departs, I ask him to pay heed to this.

It is appropriate that statements should be taken on the rights of migrant workers in the House today. A cursory glance either at the media or the streets outside the House or the Four Courts will yield sufficient evidence that problems exist in this area, which we have a duty to address. A woman from the Philippines was hired to work on a ship for just over €1 an hour. On the streets of Dublin, Turkish workers protest that money belonging to them has been paid into Dutch bank accounts without their knowledge. I am sure the House will join with me in hoping that the findings of that investigation will soon be made public.

Notwithstanding these public cases, I want to bring some personal experience to the debate. Media reports of the ill-treatment of migrant workers are worrying, but they tend to focus on the extreme end of such treatment. At a much lower level, migrant workers daily fail to receive the treatment a caring society should offer. I employ migrant workers, for example, from the Ukraine. My experience is that migrant workers are not being treated by this society in a most caring way. One key issue is the lack of language skills. Migrant workers typically have poor English, through no fault of their own. This is not merely a handicap to them in the workplace but is also a barrier to greater integration within the wider society. The House well knows that such integration is imperative for the well-being of migrant workers and society, but the language skill issue is not being properly tackled. It is not enough to say that the appropriate forms and paperwork are being translated. Neither is it sufficient to point them in the direction of the local VEC. We must do more. Specific, inexpensive and flexible language programmes for migrant workers should be available. This is vital for their integration and social well-being. We cannot have a situation where the sum total of migrant worker interaction takes place on Saturdays and Sundays at Lidl or Aldi.

Another lesson from my experience is the State's requirements as regards payment rates for these workers. That is why I bring this form to the attention of the Minister. There should be a mechanism on this form which would require bogus employers to return it once a year to the Department. This would greatly reduce the work of the inspectors and obviate the need for them to go out to these 110 employees. I fail to see why there should not be a form that an employer must return at the end of every year, showing the number of people on his or her books, the rates of pay, the PPS numbers and indicating whether people are still employed. In many cases work runs out and while a permit might be valid for a year, it does not ensure 12 months employment.

Some of these people may be in the country several years, where the work permits have run out, but they have not gone home. They work long hours, up to 100 hours a week, for example, in the security industry. In one specific case I know of a non-national without a permit who is working over 100 hours, making great money. They call Irish money "gold". The situation is that although such people are not regularised, they are contributing by working in this society. They do not cost the State money and neither are they looking for free accommodation or services. They are afraid to go to the doctor. They are afraid, if they do something wrong, that the Garda might pick them up and bring them to airport immediately.

I would urge an amnesty for some of those people from Moldova or Romania who have been working here for a number of years. Employers find themselves facing a €250,000 fine for employing such people. Yet if they let them go, employers know well that they cannot recruit local Irish labour because of the employment shortages. If they have to go through the whole rigmarole of advertising through FÁS for four weeks and a process of recruitment the only people, from my experience, who will reply to the advertisements will be workers from Moldova, Lithuania and Latvia through agencies in those countries. One will probably only get one Irish person to apply for any task in this country at the moment over a three-week advertising period. That is the experience of Irish employers, yet there are people in Ireland who are effectively on the run, and I believe this situation should be regularised. People are sending money home because they are afraid to bank it here. If they were able to bank their money, they could buy their own homes and stay in this country. They are an advantage to rather than a drain on our society.

It is time we recognised that changes must be made in our permit system sooner rather than later. Migrant workers are among the most hard working honest people that I know. They do not miss Mondays. They work 39 hours a week and want to work overtime, including Saturdays and Sundays. This may be their land of opportunity, but it is also to the benefit of Irish society. The figures show how they have been employed over the years and how the economy depends on them. I call on the Minister to make the necessary changes to the permit system sooner rather than later.