David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Usually, ordinary Members such as myself object to the Government rushing legislation through All Stages. However, I want to join the growing number of people who want to do that. There is no great fuss. This is a simple, one-paged Bill. It is perfectly obvious and straightforward and nothing should obstruct it. We can put it through if we so decide. The reasons for doing so have been referred to in a glancing way.

The situation in question is continuing. Mr. Younis is in the public gallery. I salute him for the courage and dignity that he and his family have shown. It is not just him, though. There is a backlog of 30 cases. What is extraordinary and bizarre is the affrontery and sheer brass neck of his cousin and other employers who flagrantly break the law yet appeal to the law to protect them.

Let us act now. We can do it. Other people might suffer in the same way. It is certainly not justice. It may be law, but the law does not always equate to justice. Mr. Justice Hogan is a fine legal mind. I have known him for many years and he is a fine judge. Obviously, he is indignant. I cannot recall another time when a judge directly approached the Oireachtas. I have told the House many times that I wished judges would and that a proper channel would be opened up so that we could have a dignified debate. It would be a creativity way of dealing with lacunae in the law. Mr. Justice Hogan went as far as he could and made his feelings clear.

Solicitors claim that there is a growing body of the people in question. They have scented the blood in the water.

This is a human tragedy. Mr. Younis stated: "This is not just money for me, it's for my family. I've lost everything now." He had been living in a hostel on ¤19.10 per week, the equivalent of the allowance paid to asylum seekers.

I wish to clear up a number of matters that may have inadvertently been suggested. He is not an illegal immigrant. He is a migrant worker who was placed in a situation of illegality. This is an important point and his case is representative. A previous case involved Gama workers from Turkey. An Independent in the Lower House raised the issue and pushed legislation through. The Government tried to take credit for it, but it did not get away with it. I made sure it did not when the legislation reached this House.

Mr. Younis's case is typical. A Pakistani national, he was brought to Ireland as a tandoori chef. He did not displace an Irish worker, since he had special and unique talents. He was unable to speak English, which is another characteristic of the cases in question. His employer, his cousin, failed to regularise his tax situation and kept his passport, an act that we have made illegal. The unintended consequences of the 2003 Act are nonsensical, in that the exploitative employer is protected while the employee is not.

It is a significant point that Mr. Hussein, in his evidence to the court, stated that he had got a work permit for Mr. Younis for the first year of employment from July 2002 to July 2003. Did he perjure himself in court? If not, is it not a stated fact accepted by the court that Mr. Younis was legally in Ireland and legally employed? I do not know why he did not get at least one year out of this. If the judge had been in a good mood, he could have inflated the amount and fined the restaurant owner.

It is a really appalling case, where somebody has been exploited and put in a position equivalent to slavery. As a result of his naïveté, innocence, lack of linguistic skills and understanding of an alien culture, he ended up as a victim who was punished because of the unintended consequences of an Act passed by the Oireachtas in 2003. The judge was right to draw the issue to our attention and I hope the rights of the man in question will be vindicated subsequently. We should act now.

The gentleman, who is sitting in the Visitors' Gallery, was grievously treated and put in a position equivalent to slavery, as several people have said. When he sought redress, the Labour Court awarded him ¤92,000, and an appeal was made. What kind of person would make that appeal? I call shame on that person. We know the victim has nothing. We can apparently and regrettably do very little for Mr. Younis and his family, although I hope something can be done. We can do something for the other 30 people, and it would be a stain on this House if we did not act immediately. The case of Mr. Younis is one too many; we do not want another 30 cases or unscrupulous employers queuing up to use this loophole. After the discovery of the loophole, it is up to us to plug it.

I compliment my friends and colleagues, Senators Quinn and Barrett, on their foresight and the brilliant way in which they presented this Bill. As they have both indicated, this is a simple Bill and a small mechanism that would take but a few minutes of the elected representatives of the people of Ireland to address this injustice. It is not acceptable for us to have to wait for the next work permits Bill when we have a solution now. Will the Minister of State ask them, for humanity's sake, to take this Bill? It will not obstruct the next work permits Bill and can wither away when that legislation is introduced, if it contains a section to address the matter.

We should act now in order that we will not have to read in the newspapers next week of another such case. I commend the Bill to the House and ask the Minister of State to consider going back to his colleagues and ask those in the Cabinet to consider it. It would not take much time to introduce it, and it could even be done outside Government time. It would be an achievement for democracy that would give hope to workers who currently have their rights trampled.