Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 222: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if, arising from the occasion of Bulgaria to membership of the European Union, the status of a person (details supplied) allows them to work here without a permit and seek the right of permanent residence without the need for a visa; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7156/07]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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From the point of view of immigration controls the person concerned, as a Bulgarian national, is subject to the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) (No. 2) Regulations 2006. These Regulations apply to all EU citizens who move to and reside in Ireland. The Regulations mean, inter alia, that EU citizens can enter Ireland on production of a valid passport or national identity card without the need for visas and may remain permanently in Ireland after residing here for a continuous period of 5 years.

Regulation 6(2)(a) provides as follows:

Subject to Regulation 20, a Union citizen may reside in the State for a period longer than 3 months if he or she —

(i) is in employment or is self-employed in the State,

(ii) has sufficient resources to support himself or herself, his or her spouse and any accompanying dependants, and has comprehensive sickness insurance in respect of himself or herself, his or her spouse and any accompanying dependants,

(iii) is enrolled in an educational establishment in the State for the principal purpose of following a course of study there, including a vocational training course, and has comprehensive sickness insurance in respect of himself or herself, his or her spouse and any accompanying dependants, or

(iv) subject to paragraph (3), is a family member accompanying or joining a Union citizen who satisfies one or more of the conditions referred to in clause (i), (ii) or (iii).

It is noted that the person concerned was a student in Ireland prior to the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union on 1 January 2007. Non-EEA nationals who have permission to remain in the State as students are currently entitled to take up casual employment (defined as 20 hours per week during school term time and up to 40 hours per week during school holidays) for the duration of their permission to remain as a student. However, while this represents the current position, "Towards 2016" provides that employment of non-EEA students will become subject to an application for an employment permit.

Bulgarian and Romanian nationals are subject to the work restriction announced by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment on 24 October 2006. This means that Bulgarian and Romanian nationals, will continue to require a permit to take up employment in Ireland and the job will continue to be subject of the current requirement for a labour market test. However, those nationals who already had the right to work full-time in the State for an uninterrupted period of 12 months or longer prior to the 31 December 2006 will not need an employment permit. From the information furnished by the Deputy it would appear that the person concerned would require a work permit if she wished to enter the labour market in a full-time capacity.