Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is more than welcome. My matter relates to the atypical work permits granted in the fishing industry and whether they may be extended for a longer period.

The more I researched the atypical work permit I found that it is an unusual work permit in many ways. We have ten different types work permits, one of which seems to be sitting in the Minister's Department. It is a bit of an outlier so I ask him to comment on how it has ended up in the Department. Nine are processed by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and one is dealt with by the Department of Justice and Equality. The Minister, therefore, might provide clarity on that issue because that would help me in the debate.

The atypical work permit is basically for crew in the fishing industry. This initiative was introduced in 2016 and it has been much welcomed by the fishing industry. As in many other industries, trying to attract has been an issue for the past decade. The atypical work permit has been a tool to bring in the foreign labour we require to ensure we have a viable fishing industry.

There are two major issues relating to the work permit. First, there is the duration. It is a 12-month work permit. Other work permits issued by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation are valid for two years and can then be extended for three years. This seems to be a 12-month work permit only, which is very tight, particularly in the context of forward planning for the fishing industry. The 12-month limitation on the contract needs to be examined. It could be more flexible and work better with the industry in order that the industry can move forward and make better plans for the future.

Second, the contract needs to be certified by a practising solicitor, which is also an unusual condition for a work permit. This does not apply to the other work permits issued by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation. This is an exceptional expense for the industry. I have heard of charges of up to €3,000 being required for that contract to be certified so there is an issue around why we have this condition tied into it. That is not like the other work permits because they do not have that contract certification issue tied to them.

As much as I am looking for the permit to be extended, the contractual issues must be examined as well. The Minister is wiser than I am but is his Department the right place for this permit to be processed? Does this need to be examined? Does responsibility for the processing of this permit need to be transferred to the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation? I went around the houses trying to get this matter taken because there is much uncertainty about where responsibility for this work permit sits.