Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 70: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation his plans to reform the work permit system to give employment permit holders the right to change employers in their job category; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20766/10]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Since 2004, Irish labour market policy has been to ensure that general labour and skills needs are met from within Ireland's workforce and that of our European Union partners. For certain specific strategic skills and labour shortages it is Government policy to issue employment permits for the employment of non-EEA nationals for specific vacancies and in response to employer demand. The various schemes that give effect to such policies were introduced following enactment of the Employment Permits Act, 2006. The new schemes constituted a major overhaul of previous arrangements.

A particular focus in developing these schemes was on increasing the rights and protections afforded to migrant workers and the means to ensure redress in the event of exploitative practices. The Act's provisions gave immigrants greater freedom, autonomy and control over their own employment choices by enabling workers for the first time to apply and re-apply for their own permit and allowing workers to change their employer after a period of a year and move to another employment in order to take advantage of better conditions or career options. Last year, my Department issued almost 1,500 employment permits in respect of employees changing to new employers.

A properly controlled employment permit system requires that permits be issued to a specific employee for a specific job with a specific employer. To do otherwise would not only risk abuse of the employment permit system but would make it much more difficult to ensure that employers observed the employment rights of employees.

The Employment Permits Act 2006 provides for regular review of Ireland's economic migration policies and my Department keeps these policies under review on an on-going basis.