Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I begin by echoing everything said by Senator Quinn, particularly his commendation of the learned judge for asking us to pay attention to the issue, especially in this House because some people do not believe it has a future. The learned judge clearly does not believe that as he has asked for our views. He has indicated that certain sections of the Employment Permits Act 2003 had perhaps produced consequences unforeseen by the Oireachtas. That seems to be the case.

We did not believe the ¤92,000 award would not be paid. It seemed that a man had been exploited for ten years as an undocumented and illegal immigrant, and there must be redress. Mr. Justice Hogan argued that the Oireachtas, "had to regulate the labour market by specifically deterring illegal immigrants from taking up employment as a failure to do so could have serious implications for both employment and immigration policy". If the legislation is applied in a rigorous and unyielding manner, the judge argued that it may have serious consequences for vulnerable migrants who found themselves exploited by unscrupulous employers. That is precisely what happened in the case in question. This Bill places a burden on the employer.

I tend not to like people in this House talking about the so-called undocumented, particularly when the issue arises in the context of the United States. Illegal immigration should not be condoned, particularly in the United States, which is a strong law-abiding country. I wonder how much political capital is wasted on the issue. We should ask people to get their affairs in order before migrating to another jurisdiction instead of always trying to make up for undocumented or illegal migrants.

Illegal immigrants depend on employers who operate in an illegal fashion. Senator Quinn's Bill places a burden on such employers, and all the evidence is that such a burden would be right. The judgment modestly calculated the burden at ¤92,000 for ten years illegal employment and exploitation, and it would gall most Members to think that an illegal employer could get off scot free in this case. We do not wish to see a repeat of that. I commend Senator Quinn on all the work he has done on the Bill and it is an honour to support it.