Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to speak to the amendment as well. When this Bill was going through pre-legislative scrutiny, there was serious concern within the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment about the introduction of seasonal permits. The record has not been good in this country regarding a number of employers and migrant work permits. We have a labour inspectorate that remains short-staffed at the moment. I know there are efforts there to try to beef it up, but the reality remains that we do not have sufficient boots on the ground to ensure abuses can be stamped out. It is important to reiterate our very deep-seated concerns about the introduction of this permit. Nonetheless, we have lost the debate. The Government is pressing ahead with the permit. In that instance, it is really important that we have this report. When the assessment the Minister of State spoke about, is undertaken, will she seek to ensure very specific and severe penalties are put in place for any future breaches of the seasonal employment permit because it is open to all sorts of abuses? We know, by their nature, that those who come into horticulture or into other seasonal work in this country are very isolated in terms of language and their interactions with the rest of the community. There are very serious concerns about the exploitation we may see with the introduction of this permit. We need to see very specific and severe penalties for any future breaches of this. We are supportive of the overall Bill and want to see this pass, notwithstanding that this particular introduction is greatly alarming to us and indeed to many across the trade union movement.