Deirdre Clune (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate Senator Quinn on producing this Bill and bringing it to the House. It is a timely discussion. I remember hearing on the radio on 31 August news of the judgment of Mr. Justice Hogan, who reversed the decision of the payment to Mr. Younis. I was shocked and wondered how it could happen in this day and age. It is appalling that somebody coming here who felt, in good faith, that he was legally employed could be exploited over ten years. It took some courage for Mr. Younis to bring the issue to the relevant authorities but he was undone legally. Mr. Justice Hogan brought the issue to the attention of the Ceann Comhairle, the Cathaoirleach and the Minister.

I raised the matter at a meeting of the committee dealing with employment issues and asked that the Minister be contacted.

We said the matter must be rectified. We want to ensure that unscrupulous employers do not benefit from this gap and, therefore, there is a sense of urgency about dealing with the appalling levels of exploitation. The fact that this employer was brazen enough to challenge this speaks volumes about the type of individuals who exploit people from other countries, particularly countries outside the European Union and Switzerland.

We all understand that we have controls on employment because there may be people in this country and across the EU who could take up those positions. Members will remember the time when we had full employment - it was a relatively short time ago - and there was a high demand for individuals to work in the catering, domestic and hospitality sectors. There were strict controls in place at that time but nonetheless there was a need to bring people here to work who had the necessary skills. That has changed now and there is an onus on all of us as Members of this House to ensure that workers in such circumstances are not exploited and that their rights are protected.

This Bill is important. It is important that having been asked to do so by Mr. Justice Hogan we are at this point where we can discuss this issue. I commend Senator Quinn on drafting such legislation which is timely. I have a concern about sections 1 and 2 which allow a situation to occur whereby a valid work permit would not exist. The contract between the employer and the employee is under discussion but the work permit is granted by the State and we must ensure that every employer and employee would have a respective valid work permit. That is important because we would not like to get to a situation whereby a work permit was deemed not to be necessary when examining the relationship between the two. That balance must be struck. I have not met with the individual in this case but I am sure he would have entered into the agreement in good faith and believed he had an agreement with an employer only to find that it was not a permit and he did not have any entitlements to labour protection.

We are in a different position today. During a discussion with the Minister in the jobs committee yesterday we asked him to grant work visas, work permits and green cards to people who can fill vacancies, particularly in the IT sector and others. Nonetheless, there is an onus on us to ensure individuals have the necessary protection when the Labour Court agreed that an individual had been unfairly and appallingly exploited, to use its words. I am sure that from a legal point of view it did not give Mr. Justice Hogan any satisfaction to have to reverse that decision.

I welcome this legislation and it is important that we have this discussion. I look forward to the Minister's comments as he probably has more expertise in examining the entire area. From speaking to the Minister, Deputy Bruton, I am aware he is looking to bring forward legislation on this area in the new year and that he has a sense of urgency in addressing it. I look forward to his comments on it also. I thank Senator Quinn for allowing us to discuss this issue and express our outrage and a sense of urgency that such a situation would be rectified.