Fishing Industry

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 July 2016

Wednesday, 13 July 2016

Questions (26)

Mick Barry

Question:

26. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine of the 500 atypical worker permits being made available to the owners of Irish fishing vessels in order that they may regularise the status of undocumented non-European Union migrant crew, the number applied for so far; the ports in which the applicant vessel owners are based; the number of fishing crew at each port; and the country of origin of the migrant fishing crew in tabular form. [21495/16]

Oral answers (11 contributions)

Deputy Mick Barry

Following an exposé in The Guardian newspaper late last year about the extreme exploitation of undocumented non-EU migrant crew members on Irish fishing vessels, 500 atypical worker permits were to be made availble to the owners of these vessels. Will the Minister advise how many of these permits have so far been applied for; the ports in which the applicant vessel owners are based; the number of fishing crew at each port; and the countries of origin of migrant fishing crews?

Deputy Michael Creed

The report of the Government’s interdepartmental task force on Non-EEA workers in the fishing industry recommended the establishment of a sector-specific atypical worker permission system which would provide a structured and transparent framework for the employment of non-EEA workers within defined segments of the commercial sea-fishing fleet. This system is an extension of the existing atypical worker permission schemes administered by the Department of Justice and Equality through the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS. The granting of permission to work in the State under the scheme is a matter for decision by the INIS.

My Department’s role in the Department of Justice and Equality scheme is limited solely to hosting a central depository, the specific purpose of which is to provide an Internet based system that facilitates applications for pre-approval under the atypical working scheme; process pre-approval applications received from applicants, certified by solicitors, who subsequently seek to apply to the INIS for an atypical working scheme, crew member, permit; issue a unique identifier for each eligible contract that meets the scheme criteria; communicate the unique identifier detail to the INIS; maintain a central depository of eligible contracts of employment; and monitor the ceiling of 500 pre-approvals in any 12-month period. The central depository does not retain information on the ports in which the applicant vessel owners are based or the number of fishing crew at each port. As of the week ending 8 July, the central depository had processed 159 contracts. The countries of origin of these 159 crew members are as follows: 83 are from Egypt; 57 are from the Philippines; nine are from Ghana; seven are from Indonesia; two are from Ukraine and one is from Sri Lanka. I have been informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service that it has granted atypical worker permission to 131 applicants.

I advise the Deputy that if he requires further information on the scheme to make direct contact with Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service.

Deputy Mick Barry

So, the answer to the big question is "159". It was agreed to make 500 permits available but five months - not five days or five weeks - after the deadline, fewer than one third have been issued. The initial reaction of the representatives of the fishing industry to the reports in The Guardian was to deny the magnitude of the problem. They did that in debate with Ken Fleming of the International Transport Federation. From a position of initial Government denial, the then-Minister, Deputy Coveney, whose Department published a report which estimated that 48% of people working in the industry were non-EU migrants, which would be more than 1,000, agreed to provide not 1,000 but 500 permits. Now, only 159 have been applied for. That fewer than 160 applications have been made five months after the original deadline can only be interpreted as two fingers from the industry to workers' rights and a shameful indictment of all of the enforcement authorities which have been provided with more than enough concrete evidence of specific instances by Mr. Fleming of the ITF.

Deputy Michael Creed

That is one interpretation and I am not surprised it is the one the Deputy takes of it. There is another interpretation which is that while there is room for substantially more applications with the industry being entitled to apply for up to 500 atypical worker permits, the problem is not as widespread as might have appeared in the first instance. The 159 applications might suggest as much, although the Deputy might like to explore the matter further with the INIS. I remind the Deputy that the task force established to consider the matter consisted of representatives of the Departments of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Justice and Equality, Transport, Tourism and Sport, Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Social Protection, and Defence, the Workplace Relations Commission, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, the Marine Survey Office, the Health and Safety Authority, the Revenue Commissioners, BIM, the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, the Naval Service, the Office of the Attorney General and An Garda Síochána. There is no anxiety on this side or among the State agencies to exploit workers of any origin unfairly in the fishing industry. We have put in place a system that allows workers to regularise their situation where they are within the industry but are not documented. The atypical worker permit gives them the rights any worker has in terms of entitlement to wages and contracts, etc. While I appreciate the slant the Deputy may wish to put on the 159 applications, it might also suggest that the problem is not as great as the Deputy at first anticipated.

Deputy Mick Barry

The Minister says there is no desire to exploit, but is there a desire to turn a blind eye? I have reports here from the International Transport Federation which indicate clearly what is going on. I will present them to the Minister straight after the debate. There is no problem about that. The International Transport Federation enjoys the right in other countries to inspect vessels. It is willing to provide that service here at no cost to the State. Clearly, it is more motivated to sort out exploitation there than the Garda, NERA and, especially, the Marine Safety Office. Does the Minister agree that the International Transport Federation should be granted inspection rights here?

Deputy Michael Creed

Many thousands of people work in the fishing industry at sea and in the processing sector who have valued and secure employment within a legal framework. The State is the ultimate guarantor of the legal framework within which they operate and has no vested interest in allowing the exploitation of any worker in that framework. I appreciate that Deputy Barry may not be a supporter of the State in all of its manifestations, but all of the necessary arms of the State were involved in the working group dealing with this matter. The State does not need an international body to assist it in policing working conditions or the rights of employees.

Deputy Mick Barry

It seems to me that it does.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Alan Farrell)

The Minister should be allowed to speak without interruption.

Deputy Michael Creed

Deputy Barry had his chance. I appreciate that he wishes to paint a picture of an industry which I value and which the people who work in it value. If there is a small percentage of people who are abusing employees, we will get to the bottom of it.

Deputy Mick Barry

It is more than a small percentage.

Deputy Michael Creed

I appreciate that the Deputy is anxious to tarnish the entire industry but I will not have that said of an industry which provides very valuable employment in peripheral locations where there are few alternative sources of work. The necessary authorities were involved in the working group. If the Deputy has specific issues he wishes to bring to the attention of the appropriate authorities within the State, he should do so, but he should please not cast aspersions on the bona fides of people who work at the coal face of the industry, go to sea, land their catches and have them processed in the republic, creating very valuable employment in so doing.