Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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77. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if the regulations for permits for seasonal workers in the agrifood sector have been reviewed with a view to the influx of workers in summer 2019. [20307/19]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department has policy responsibility for the Employment Permit Acts and administers the granting of employment permits to non- EEA nationals to work in the State. Migrant workers from the European Union and European Economic Area (EEA) do not require an employment permit to work in Ireland.

There is currently no employment permit type specifically designed for seasonal workers to take up temporary employment in any sector. However, the Review of Economic Migration Policy which my Department undertook in 2018 recommended the introduction of a seasonal employment permit to meet the needs of enterprises which employ workers on a seasonal basis, to cater for example for the agrifood and hospitality sector. My Department is currently assessing the options for introducing this permit, guided by best international practice and possible models for such a permit are being considered by my officials. If introduced and in line with current practice, seasonal non-EEA workers will be covered by employment rights legislation in the same way as other workers.