This is a technical amendment to adjust the meaning of section 8(2), amending the definitions for the types of arrangements and officials included under this provision. It will ensure that reciprocal international agreements with other state and memorandums of understanding or co-operation agreements with international organisations are included in this Bill.

These are technical amendments which include textual changes and changes to cross-referencing. Amendments Nos. 24 to 26, inclusive, will amend section 39 on additional grounds for refusing renewals of employment permits. These amendments will include reference to section 31, which relates to non-consultant hospital doctors under the powers for the Minister to consider refusing the renewal of employment permits for such doctors should an issue arise with regard to the remuneration paid during their employment on the…

I thank you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, and Deputies for their collaboration and contributions to the Bill. It is a really important Bill and will bring benefits for economic migrants and employers. I very much appreciate the rich discussions that happened in both this House and the Seanad and in committee. This Bill represents the biggest reform to employment permits legislation since the 2006 Act and will result in many positive changes to Ireland's economic migration policy. Through the Bill, we are ensuring the p…

I would like to speak to amendment No. 232. I thank the Minister of State for tabling this amendment to the Bill. As we are all aware, this Bill is nearly 730 pages long. It is the third largest piece of legislation in the history of the State and is the culmination of a 15-month review of the planning system. Anyone who spent hours and weeks on end in committee rooms during the months of February, March and April will know that more than 1,200 amendments have already been debated during those sessions, which often…

I did not realise that homework was part of your powers, a Chathaoirligh. How interesting.

I thank Senator Boyhan for his kind words and wishing me well. On behalf of the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, I thank the Senator for his submission and for giving us the chance to discuss this topic. As Senator Boyhan was elected on the agricultural panel, which obviously also includes fisheries, I know this is an area of huge interest and advocacy for him. I am delighted to be able to confirm that Government policy is to ensure the horse racing industry achieves its maximum potential and, in doing so, contributes…

The Senator is absolutely right that our horse racing industry is the envy of the world and we cannot take that for granted. The rapidly changing international environment continues to pose challenges to the Irish economy. Coupled with Ireland being a small and open economy naturally prone to volatility, it can be somewhat difficult to fully predict what the future holds. That is why it is crucial we support this important industry and its continued navigation through the challenges in 2024. Given the wide geograph…

On behalf of the Minister, Deputy McEntee, I thank the Senator for raising this matter in the Seanad today. He has described this as a social inclusion measure. We absolutely need to aspire to be more socially inclusive. As he said, citizenship ceremonies are wonderful events. I know that our new citizens cherish being part of them. They are a day to acknowledge the journey that has brought them to Ireland, where they have made a home. New Irish citizens undertake to faithfully observe the laws of the State and to …

I again thank the Senator for raising this matter, which I have taken on behalf of the Minister, Deputy McEntee. I will provide his feedback to her. The Senator is right. Some other EU countries have seen merit in introducing a civic test. I am informed that officials in the Department of Justice continually review all immigration applications and legislation to ensure they remain fit for purpose. The citizenship division of the Department has seen a dramatic increase in the number of people applying for citizenshi…

I know we are getting towards the end of the Bill, so, speaking on the amendment, I take this opportunity to thank the Minister, the Minister, Helen McEntee, and their officials for all the work they have put into legally recognising surrogacy in Ireland. I served as the Vice Chair of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on International Surrogacy and, under the stewardship of Deputy Whitmore and utilising the lived experience and legal expertise of my party colleague, Senator Mary Seery Kearney, with the help of campaig…

Yes, I will get to the amendment in a moment. Utilising, as I said, the lived experience and the legal knowledge of colleagues across that committee, including Senator Mary Seery Kearney, with the help of campaigners and expert witnesses, who gave powerful testimony, we put together a very comprehensive report, which has informed the Bill, and from which many amendments that were tabled during this debate were discussed. I stood with so many of those witnesses and families on the plinth of Leinster House on the mor…

I thank the Acting Chairman. I will do so. While I absolutely welcome these much-needed and long-awaited changes, the legal underpinning of familial rights and their recognition, validation and realisation, I accept the legislation is not perfect, which is why I wanted to speak to the amendment. The Bill is not perfect - I do not think any legislation is - but in this instance, as the Minister noted in his response, time is of the essence to families, as it is to families who are beginning on their surrogacy journe…

Is that okay, Deputy?

It would make logistical sense if this could be dealt with in the District Court. This was something we discussed at length at the committee, and it came up again and again from an access and accessibility perspective. I welcome what the Minister said about cost because while my preference is that this be heard in the District Court, my higher and ultimate preference is that this is done in a legally robust way that does not allow for challenges or getting into legal quagmires and is clear-cut. If we have to hear s…

I thank the Minister for Health, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the officials in both their Departments who worked on this, the Office of the Attorney General, the Oireachtas health committee, my fellow members of the Joint Committee on International Surrogacy, which was a special committee put in place to look at this, especially its Chair, Deputy Whitmore, and my colleague, Senator Mary Seery Kearney. Most importantly, I thank the families, campaigners and groups that kept this on the news agenda, the politica…

I am delighted to have the opportunity to once again present the Employment Permits Bill for the consideration of Seanad Éireann. Since the Committee Stage debate on the Bill, a minor technical amendment relating to the alphabetical order of section 2 was identified and I present the amendment to Members. I note the resubmission of a small number of Opposition amendments to the Bill, which we will discuss. I thank Members for their input to the Bill and the overall support for its overarching principles and objecti…

I thank the Senator. This amendment would require a report to be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas within 12 months of the passing of the Bill, reviewing the conditions and wages of workers holding a seasonal employment permit. As I noted on Committee Stage, while I appreciate and understand the concerns of Senators, I will not be accepting this amendment. I will outline the reasons. We are planning to ensure the rights of seasonal employment permit holders are upheld. That is the thrust of what the Senator…

I thank the Acting Chair. I want to address a couple of concerns that were listed here today. First, with regard to what Senator Higgins said about the zero-hour contracts, I see what she is saying on that but it is a really good testimony to a Member of this Chamber who, as the then Minister for Social Protection, former Deputy Regina Doherty, banned zero-hour contracts, which was a really positive move from an employment rights perspective. With regard to the seasonal permit holders and how the permits were desig…

As the Senator said, the amendment calls for a report to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas outlining the labour market access available to spouses of employment permit holders, particularly looking to the gender impact, which is a very important issue to raise. This is especially the case for economic migrants working in vital roles in our health and social care sectors in particular. As we discussed on Committee Stage, spousal access to the labour market and family reunification are the policy responsibi…

It is, legislatively.