Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I thought Deputy Joe Higgins got his hands on the Fianna Fáil amendment. This is not simply a moral issue but it is also an important business one. We do not need extensive legislation to deal with the immediate issue. We need to spend €50,000 to translate all our basic documentation into the language of each significant group working here. A Ukrainian immigrant worker should have a copy of this material available in his or her own language. This may be available but significant omissions exist in the list of languages on the Department's website. That is wrong. I was astonished that Turkish was not on this list. I thought that the Department would have generated documents in Turkish over the past weeks out of shame if for no other reason. I am concerned about a system based on work permit holders with high levels of skill who are not affected by exploitation. A person with computer or engineering skills may negotiate his or her position. Those who are recruited for work as contract cleaners or providers of basic kitchen services do not have skills.