I welcome the Minister of State to the House.
Employment Permits Bill 2022: Second Stage
Question proposed: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time".
I am very pleased to have the opportunity to discuss the Employment Permits Bill 2022 in the Seanad today. The purpose of this Bill is to consolidate and update the legislative provisions that regulate the employment permits system, namely the Employment Permits Acts of 2003 and 2006, as amended in 2014.
The conclusions of the 2018 review of economic migration policy endorsed the robust fundamental structure of the existing system. It recommended that new legislation be initiated to increase the responsiveness of the system, to modernise it, and to ensure that it can adapt to the changing needs of the labour market of the future. The policy underlying the economic migration system is that it should synchronise with the skills and labour needs in the economy while prioritising the Irish and EEA labour pool. The changes proposed in the Bill give effect to many of the review’s recommendations without changing this core goal. It retains the key policy focus of supporting the economy through evidence-based decision making and ensuring the rights of migrant workers are protected. The current legislation includes a number of improvements.
The Bill introduces a change of employer option removing the need for those on the critical skills and general employment permits to submit a new employment permit application should they wish to move employer. This will improve the attractiveness of Ireland as an economic migration destination by allowing these permit holders to move employer after a prescribed period with the original employer, which is planned to be nine months. This will replace the current arrangement which requires the application for a new permit after a period of 12 months has passed on their first permit.
The Bill ncreases the routes to employment through the introduction of a new seasonal employment permit, SEP. This new seasonal permit will be based on a strong labour rights foundation and will facilitate the needs of certain sectors operating on a seasonal basis. It will be a short-term employment permission for a third country national to work in the State for a maximum of seven months per calendar year and provides for the return of the worker each season, renewable across multiple years. It is designed to support sectors in addressing labour shortages and has been developed in consultation with stakeholders.
Indexation provisions in the Bill will ensure salary thresholds for employment permits remain, at least, in line with average wage growth. This will be achieved by indexation against the annual change in mean weekly earnings as calculated by the CSO.
At the end of 2023, I introduced updates to the minimum salary thresholds for employment permits as they had become seriously outdated, having not kept pace with wage inflation in the nine years since they were established in 2014. This indexation provision ensures that such a situation will not arise again.
The agility of the employment permits processing system will be greatly improved by moving operational details to secondary legislation for easier modification, as circumstances require. This will ensure more flexibility in the operation of schemes and that they remain up to date. For example, the more detailed requirements of the labour market needs test are being moved to regulations to enable updates to the form that the advertisement must take in order to keep pace with updated forms of media including online platforms and professional jobs websites. All drafting has been guided by the Office of the Attorney General to ensure that the provisions of the Bill are in line with current jurisprudence and that any criteria moved to regulation are securely anchored in primary legislation.
The Bill provides for additional conditions that must be met before an employment permit can be granted, such as training or accommodation support for migrant workers, and evidence of business process innovation or upskilling to decrease future reliance on permits. This also includes the option to make the granting of employment permits dependent on the employer also taking on trainees and apprentices, where appropriate.
The status and employment opportunities of permit holders is enhanced by a new provision allowing permit holders to retain their permit in circumstances where they have been promoted or move internally. Currently, the permit holder may be required to submit a new permit application. This amendment could reduce the administrative burden for companies and permit holders and reduce accidental non-compliance with employment permits legislation.
The Bill also provides for the facilitating of third-party contractual arrangements including subcontractors and agencies through a revised definition of "employer" based on the existence of a contract. This facilitates an agency becoming the employer of a permit holder while the permit holder carries out the work for a client of that agency, making it possible for the client to provide for the salary. A definition of "subcontractor" is also added to the Bill which allows these entities to avail of the contract for service employment permit.
During these Stages I will also propose amendments to the current section of the Bill designed to address the challenges in providing employment permits promptly to non-EEA nationals who take temporary employment as non-consultant hospital doctors in public hospitals and public health facilities. Officials in my Department and the Department of Health are drafting the instructions on this issue to ensure the provisions are fit for purpose.
I am also considering technical amendments on some minor issues to ensure the Bill continues to be in line with its current requirements. Included here is an amendment to section 8 of the Bill which sets out the cohorts for whom an employment permit is not required. This will formalise the fact that recipients of international protection who have access to the labour market after six months by virtue of their permission, do not require an employment permit.
I look forward to an informed and meaningful debate and to working constructively with Senators on all sides of the House on what I think is an important piece of legislation on an important area that has been discussed at length recently. Ultimately, we are talking about people who play a vital role, not just in our economy but crucially, in our society. They deserve protection, rights and a decent day's pay. That said, their employers need to be in a position where they can bring even more people here to fill the very clear skills gaps. It is not about cheap or low skills labour. It is about filling gaps in our economy to provide for a better economy, more success for businesses and to provide more services throughout the State to allow our society to function better for everyone, be they born here or elsewhere.
I welcome the Minister of State, a former Seanadóir, back to the House. I thank the Minister of State and his officials for the work they have done on this. It is funny that for years I only knew of work permits as things that soccer players coming from abroad needed to be able to play in the UK. In the last number of years they have become a big thing in Ireland. The reason for this is because of job creation in the country in the past ten years. We are almost at a point now, with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, where the State has created almost 900,000 jobs. To go from where we were in 2011 to where we are now is a phenomenal achievement. We are now in a situation that to fill the jobs being created by employers across the country, we need to look to the EU and further afield for workers. Last year, for example, some 40,000 people availed of work permits to take up positions in key roles, as the Minister of State referred to, that cannot be filled. Many of them are well qualified to perform those roles. It is a really important thing that we have at the moment to be able to bring people in to do these jobs.
The changes being made in this Bill are important because they are to do with seasonal workers. The changes recognise that seasonal work is an important element, particular in areas like mine in Tipperary, in the horticulture sector, with fruit picking, for example.
We need it to make changes to support employees and employers in that area.
As the Minister of State and all of us who deal with matters in our counties are aware, free movement of persons on work permits from one position to another within a sector has been difficult for several years. The changes being made by the Minister of State to make it easier to move positions, within the same sector, without having to get a new work permit are important. This has an impact in my county of Tipperary. Last year, 531 work permits were issued. As public representatives, we often hear about work permits that have not been issued or have been cancelled, but the numbers in that regard are very small. Of the 531 issued last year, just over 30 were refused and just over 40 or 50 were withdrawn. The numbers withdrawn or refused are quite low. So far this year, 50 applications have already been approved by the Department. That shows the interest in this area and that these are important positions.
It is important to protect employers and ensure they can get people in to work, but we also need to protect employees. As the Minister of State stated, they deserve decent pay. The changes he made just before Christmas in that regard reflected that the people who are coming are well qualified and that needs to be recognised in pay. I acknowledge that work permits bring challenges for employers. If they have a certain amount of people who are on work permits, that increases their costs. It is no different from the changes we have made to the minimum wage or sick pay legislation or anything else that has been brought through. These are the right things to do, but they bring challenges for employers.
It is important to welcome this legislation. I thank the Minister of State for the work he is doing. He has a keen interest in this subject, but also in Tipperary in general. He was in Tipperary a few weeks ago to meet people on issues connected to his Department, whether relating to retail, work permits or the wider enterprise and trade portfolio. That was very much appreciated. Obviously, the Bill has the support of the Fine Gael Party in the Seanad.
I welcome the Minister of State. The purpose of the Bill is to consolidate and update the legislative provisions that regulate the employment permit scheme. The 2018 review of economic migration policy, of which the Minister of State is aware, endorsed the robust fundamental structure of the existing system. However, it went on to recommend that legislation should be initiated. I take it that forms part of the motivation for the Minister of State's work on the Bill. As he stated, we need to be responsive to employment needs, modernise and ensure the employment permits system can adapt to the changing needs of the labour market now and in future. I welcome that the changes proposed in the Bill will give effect to the recommendations of the review.
It is important that any new proposals for the work permit scheme focus on supporting the economy and the labour market through evidence-based facts and data on labour shortages and real market demands for services and goods. Indeed, the Minister of State made that point very well in his opening remarks in the context of additional work permits. I acknowledge that important point. I also acknowledge that the Bill seeks to consolidate the current legislative framework, improve clarity and retain a strong focus on an employment permits system that is fair, transparent and orientated to meeting the skill and labour needs of the State.
As I am a member of the agricultural panel of Seanad Éireann and the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I will focus on agriculture and the food sector. I advocate for additional general employment permits to meet the demands, challenges and ambitions of the wider agricultural, horticultural and forestry sector and ensure its sustainable growth, viability and expansion. I know the Minister of State will encourage that. Significant changes have already been made to the employment permits system, with more roles in the agricultural industry now eligible for general employment permits. Again, that is to be welcomed, but more can be done. In 2022, 40,000 work permits were issued. In 2023, the demand remained high and more than 31,000 permits were issued to workers outside the EEA.
I refer to the critical skills occupation list. Additional roles have been added to the list, including professional foresters, pig programme managers, pig farm assistants, meat processing operatives, deboners, dairy farm assistants and certain horticultural fruit and vegetable seasonal workers. All of these roles are vital for the success of the food production industry. Indeed there was reference on RTÉ News today or yesterday to issues relating to a shortfall of workers for lambing and calf production. Ireland has virtually full employment. We need to draw on other additional labour sources. Additional horticultural workers are needed to support the sector pending the full introduction of the seasonal employment permits. The Minister of State touched on this in his opening statement. It is an issue on which we need to focus. Migrant workers bring much-needed skills and experience to our workforce and the cultural diversity greatly benefits our society and economy. That is a key message that needs to be sent from here and a wraparound message in the context of the important Bill before the house. The work permit system must be fair and balanced, with a rights-based approach for workers. The labour needs of business and enterprise should be to the fore. As the Minister of State noted, however, it must also be equitable and fair. This is not about cheap labour; it is about augmenting shortages in essential labour skills for the economy.
The plans of the Minister of State for the reform of the employment permit system are significant. The Bill is a significant development which will encourage a vibrant and inclusive job market. I welcome his proactive approach to addressing the skills shortage and the structured and transparent approach he is taking to economic migration. I am genuinely encouraged by his efforts and I am supportive of the Bill.
I welcome the Minister of State and his officials to the Chamber. I welcome the support for the Bill, which will modernise the employment permits system. Although the current system is strong, it is not flexible. Flexibility is required in this area. This legislation will provide for a system of employment permits that is more responsive and capable of adjusting as the labour market changes. With more than 2.7 million people at work in Ireland, the Bill will allow us to better compete for global talent to fill the labour market gaps, support local enterprises and encourage foreign direct investment, while also protecting the rights of workers.
The general policy of the State is to promote the sourcing of labour and skills needs from within the workforce of Ireland, the European Union and other EEA states. Policy in respect of applications for employment permits remains focused on facilitating the recruitment from outside the EEA of highly skilled personnel where the requisite skills cannot be met by normal recruitment or training. For the purpose of the employment permits system, occupations fall into three categories. Occupations listed on the critical skills occupations list are highly skilled professionals who are in demand and not always available within the resident labour force. Ineligible occupations are those where there is evidence that there are more than enough Irish or EEA workers to fill such vacancies. Every other job in the labour market for which an employer cannot find a worker is eligible for an employment permit. For these applications, the employer is required to undertake the labour market needs test. For example, an employer must advertise the job for four weeks. If no suitable candidate applies for the job, the employer is free to apply for an employment permit.
As Members will be aware, the Bill has been developed partially in response to the review of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment of the economic migration policy in 2018 and in response to a recent increase in demand for employment permits by the business community to secure a suitable, skilled people for its operations. The Department's review of the economic migration policy in 2018 concluded that while the employment permits system provides a robust framework to supplement skills and labour needs in the State, the current legislation imposes considerable inflexibility in its operations. The review recommended new legislation to increase the agility and responsiveness of the system to modernise it and ensure it can adapt to rapid changes in the needs of the labour market in the future and fluctuations in demand contingent on the economic cycle.
Members will be aware that Ireland is currently an outlier regarding seasonal employment permits. The vast majority of European countries offer these types of permits, yet Ireland does not. Seasonal work has always occurred, particularly in agriculture and horticulture. This legislation will address the need for seasonal permits.
I welcome the legislation and believe it is necessary to modernise our employment permits system and enhance the flexibility in that system, which is required.
The Minister of State is very welcome, as always. The current employment permits system is designed to enable appropriately skilled non-EEA migrants to fill vacancies that cannot be filled from within the State. I appreciate that this Bill is challenging, technical and lengthy, and I also appreciate the engagement the Minister of State and his officials have had with the office of my colleague, Deputy Louise O'Reilly, to date. Our employment permits legislation does need modernising and Sinn Féin wants to see legislation that improves the system. Where there are shortages of necessary skills in our economy, of course we should use employment permits fairly and sensibly. We would like to see a much more considerable effort on the part of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, working with the Departments of education and higher education and doing more to equip students with critical skills where we have skills shortages. We should be developing skilled workers through our secondary and third level education systems. More important, there needs to be an improvement in pay and conditions where skill shortages exist.
We still have some concerns about the approach the Government has taken in this Bill. Those concerns are mostly related to the need to protect workers' rights. There are some positive elements in the Bill that will improve the current system, such as index-linking wage thresholds to keep in line with salary growth; providing additional conditions for the granting of employment permits, such as training or accommodation supports for migrant workers in some circumstances; and making innovation or upskilling a condition of grant where this may decrease future reliance on economic migration. Sinn Féin welcomes all these positive aspects.
A few issues with the Bill were highlighted by my colleague, Deputy Louise O'Reilly, during the various Stages in the Dáil. Also, several concerns were raised by the enterprise, trade and employment committee. The committee was shown evidence that, in some cases, the employment rights of workers under the permits system, including in respect of their level of pay and conditions of employment, are not observed or enforced. The Minister of State and I had a good conversation just last week in this regard, and we both agree on the need for additional workplace inspectors, but it would be good to hear when progress will be made. This is key. We want to see the issues addressed properly.
Unfortunately, we will struggle to support legislation that leaves open the possibility of an exploitative employment model in certain economic sectors through the introduction of seasonal employment permits. Such a model is neither an ethical nor a sustainable solution for the sectors concerned. What the sectors and the workers therein need are decent pay and conditions and a right to collective bargaining. As I have highlighted in this Chamber many times, Ireland is an outlier in Europe when it comes to recognising the right to collective bargaining. If we want to future-proof our economy, we must make hard work pay. We can attract workers to struggling sectors that have low pay and poor conditions only by making sure all current and future workers in these sectors are afforded decent pay and conditions. What is also needed is progressive legislation that supports and protects migrant workers and also benefits the economy.
I acknowledge the input and work of Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, which does brilliant work highlighting the issues concerning migrant workers. Some of our concerns have been addressed. I thank the Minister of State and the officials for the engagement so far but we are still at odds regarding seasonal employment permits. In this regard, we will table amendments on Committee Stage.
It is great to have the Minister of State in the House. One of his first appearances here as a Minister of State was for a Commencement debate on work permits and their importance that I requested this time last year. I want to touch on this in this debate. We should make no mistake about the fact that we have a rip-roaring and very successful economy, particularly by European standards. In the part of the world I come from, along the corridor between Dublin and Belfast, the economy serves as the engine of Ireland. The basis of a very successful economy like Ireland's is the ability to bring people in to work, set up their lives and make a contribution, not only to the economy but also to society. This relates to an important debate given issues concerning immigration, for example, in the past couple of months.
At the foundation of success in this area are work permits. The Minister of State and the former Minister of State, Deputy Damien English, did considerable work on this. Heretofore, it took considerable time to process work permits, and it got to the stage where people were saying they were unsure whether they wanted to work in Ireland anymore. They went elsewhere. That was not a good way to try to sell Ireland Inc. or the Irish economy. As a result of the reforms the former Minister of State, Deputy English, and the current Minister of State have introduced in the Department, the red tape around work permits has been cut dramatically. It has cut a huge amount of bureaucracy around work permits, both for the applicants and the officials in the Department processing the applications. That is really good. It is important to acknowledge today that, because of the work the Department and Minister of State have been doing, we now have more workers coming to work in Ireland than ever before. Regardless of what the media and others say, more Irish people are coming back to Ireland to work than are emigrating. I have said before in this House that people emigrate for a variety of reasons, economic ones being among the least important.
Work permits are the bedrock of our economic success. This is a good thing. People from right around the globe, not just the European Union, want to come to Ireland to live, work and contribute to society and the economy. They are highly skilled. They are people who want to come here to do jobs that Irish people do not want to do. What is happening is very good. It is a very good story for the Minister of State's Department to sell and a very good one for the Irish Government.
A year on from the Minister of State's first Commencement debate in this House, which was on work permits, I take the opportunity to commend him and the Department on really streamlining the work permit process, making it very efficient and ensuring we attract to the country the workers we need to ensure our economy continues to be one of the strongest performing economies in the European Union.
I thank all the Senators for their contributions and the general welcome in the House for the legislation. I would like to address a few points that have been raised.
I fundamentally believe this Bill represents the biggest reform to the employment permits legislation since the Act of 2006 and will result in many positive changes to Ireland's economic migration policy. It is positive for our economy as a whole and our people.
I was touched when Senator Ahearn said he addressed permits for English football clubs. I can assure him that several League of Ireland clubs, including Sligo Rovers and Bohemians, have received work permits in the past couple of weeks or since the season started. It pains me as a Shamrock Rovers fan to have issued those permits, but it is good for the league to see talent from outside the European Economic Area wanting to come here.
I really appreciate Senator Boyhan's detailed input on the agriculture sector, of which he has such personal, professional and political knowledge. He and I go back a long way and I have noted his knowledge at first hand in this Chamber. I noted it when I represented the small rural area of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The IFA informed me yesterday at a protest that its 43 members in Glencullen are still there and had good votes in the last election and, indeed, a turnout of 100%.
We are always open to increasing the number of roles on the permitted occupations list for the agriculture sector. We expanded the list by 43 occupations before Christmas and we will carry out a review in due course. We work closely with the sector to ensure the quotas pertaining to the roles are appropriate to the needs of the sector. Ultimately, the permit holders are the people who will ensure we have food on our plates tomorrow morning and that supermarket shelves will be stocked with the very best of Irish-produced goods in so many areas.
I turn to Senator Crowe's point on working with the business community. We are absolutely responsive. The roles on the critical skills and eligible lists are the roles we need. These are people who simply cannot be found in Ireland or across the European Economic Area, which is a broad space. The European Economic Area is the 27 EU member states, but also includes Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and the United Kingdom through the common travel agreement. We have a vast pool from which to get the best level of talent. When we are unable to find people to fill those roles it is not just people in Ireland, but people across the entire European Economic Area.
Senator Gavan made a point about equipping our secondary school and third level students and those already in the workforce with the necessary skills and the ability to upskill. That is something the Government is taking seriously. That is why we have seen more than 9,000 people enter apprenticeships last year, which was a massive increase over the previous couple of years and under better conditions. We are seeing more people in all forms of third level education. Third level is not just about the arts degree in UCD or UCC, or wherever Senator Ahearn and I went back in the day. It is about every form of further and higher education. The reforms in that sector are vital to future proofing the needs of our country. However, the tides have turned for this country. This is not the country many of us grew up in, which you simply left and which so many people had to leave. This is a country people want to come to. There is a job for everyone. However, as needs change, trying to keep up with the needs of the economy will always require workers to come into this State. They are workers from Great Britain and across the European Economic Area, but also an increasing number of workers from outside the European Economic Area. That is something we see across the European Union, but is absolutely particular to Ireland. The Senator knows my bona fides when it comes to protecting workers' rights. We have a good and productive conversation, and will have many more. There are a number of sectors where I have been absolutely horrified by the reports presented to me by the Migrant Rights Council of Ireland, as well as a number of trade unions like Mandate and Unite. They are appalling and there is no space for it. Going forward I want to see the increased funding I gave to the Workplace Relations Commission in last year's budget put towards extra inspectors who will spend more time on the ground in businesses, making sure they protect those who have come here and trusted the State to protect their livelihoods. They have taken a huge leap, come great distances and left their families behind. They have come for a fair day's pay for a fair day's work and for the treatment they deserve. The better we treat our workers the more our economy will grow.
Senator Gavan's point on collective bargaining is in some ways parallel to the debate we are having, but I want to provide an update. The high-level working group on collective bargaining met again last week. We had a LEEF meeting on Monday, where there was a discussion between the social partners - both employers and employees groups. I have given my commitment that I want to see this progress. I want to see the high-level working group meeting every fortnight until we have a clear plan in place to allow us to transpose the necessary legislation for the directive to be enacted. I agree with the Senator. Our coverage when it comes to collective bargaining is shameful compared with the rest of the European Union. I say that as a pro-business, centre-right politician. I say that because when you have a robust set of rules on collective bargaining and are attracting inward investment you can make the case that this provides certainty, a motivated workforce and a peaceful industrial relations set-up that allows further investment from those businesses outside Ireland and potentially outside of the European Union, including north America. Collective bargaining should not be feared by the business community, especially those not familiar with the European system. It should be embraced.
Well said.
It is something that can be improved and will be improved. We will be able to do that with co-operation from employer groups as well as employee groups.
I take up a point made by Senator McGahon about the fact that we have more Irish people coming home to work than we have emigrating. A certain representative made a contribution in the Dáil today. I will not name them or their party, because it is not a political point I want to make. They talked about the thousands of Irish people fleeing to Australia. They are not fleeing to Australia. When I left college 90% of my friends had no choice but to up and go to Australia, Canada or London because there were no jobs or livelihoods here. We now have a situation where, as Senator McGahon pointed out, there are 2.7 million people at work in Ireland. We have more people working in the State than the State had as a population in the 1950s. The average industrial wage will again go up by €2,000 this year. The salaries in the areas where we most need skilled workers are going up. Not only is the minimum wage going up, but we have really impactful sectoral employment agreements in place for the construction sector. The lowest salary in construction at the moment is €19.45 per hour. The average annual salary in the construction sector is more than €50,000. These are good and well paying jobs.
My final point relates to seasonal work permits, something raised by a number of senators including Senators Crowe and Gavan. Senator Crowe pointed out that we are the last EU member state to embrace seasonal work permits. I know there is ideological opposition to them, but I think they will be a vital part of future proofing our economy. They are nothing new. My ancestors used to go back and forth from County Cavan to Scotland centuries ago, following potato picking season. It is something as old as time. It is the migration of workers to go to earn a good salary and come home to provide a living for those at home. However, I assure people that by introducing this, and introducing a new scheme, it will be done in a robust manner. This will be of great benefit for many sectors in the economy. I initially want to lay our the detail. We might go into more detail when amendments are tabled and we get onto Report Stage. There was an element of this discussion in the Dáil. I was not around when it was discussed on Committee Stage.
In terms of what we want to operate, we are looking at where other EU member states and similar likeminded countries perhaps have not got this right. We want to avoid their mistakes. We initially intend to introduce a very narrow pilot scheme, solely in the horticultural sector and giving out no more than a couple of hundred seasonal work permits. That is just in the horticultural sector, because that is where there is a clear need and clear season. Let us be frank, if you have somebody working at picking a particular crop who has the skills to pick, package and process that crop, that is not a 12-month job. Picking season is a certain period of the year and we will look to issue a work permit for perhaps between three and four months of that period. We will make sure, first, that the employers eligible to apply for these permits are registered employers. They have to be trusted employers. Any breaches in terms of conditions, as discussed earlier with Senator Gavan, will see that employer taken off and they will be ineligible to apply again for seasonal work permits. You have to treat the workers the right way. Salaries will be set in a strong manner. Again, it is not about cheap labour. It is about filling a gap and a need. Private health insurance will need to be provided. Accommodation of a certain standard will need to be provided. We will ensure workers are coming to a situation where it will be a choice for some people on a multiannual basis to come to Ireland for a three to four month period. They will play a very important role in our economic development and in a really important sector. That is primarily the agrifood production sector, but it could also work in hospitality and many other areas in due course. They play a vital role for our communities and society by making sure our crops are picked and the food is put into our supermarkets and onto our plates, feeding the next generation and so much more. That is something they will want to come back to. It will become a tradition that they will come every year for three months, earn a really good salary they can then bring home to their own country to support their family, perhaps invest in a business of their own or support their own farming following different seasons.
We want to do this in an equitable way. We want to do this in a fair way. We want to do this in a way that will benefit employer and employee alike. It is a fundamental change to our work permit system that will be good both for worker and employer. The other area touched on is transferability. We worked closely with the Migrant Rights Council of Ireland on this to get a system that will work well, to make sure that when someone makes the decision to come to Ireland to pursue a career that their rights are still protected, and are treated as well as any other worker from within the European Economic Area who comes to work here.
I am grateful to all Senators for their participation in the debate this evening. I look forward to further debate on the remaining Seanad Stages. I look forward to engaging and ultimately seeing this legislation passed as quickly as possible to, first and foremost, give workers the ability to transfer quickly, and to give employers the ability to advertise in a more modern way. I do not know anyone who gets a job through a physical newspaper anymore. It is all about online advertising, and ultimately to bring in a seasonal work permit system that will be good for both employer and employee alike.
Question put and agreed to.
When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?
Next Tuesday.
Committee Stage ordered for Tuesday, 5 March 2024.
When is it proposed to sit again?
Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar athló ar 6.40 p.m. go dtí 10.30 a.m., Dé Céadaoin, an 28 Feabhra 2024.
The Seanad adjourned at 6.40 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 28 February 2024.