Minister for Health (Deputy James Reilly): The Minister for Health is the Competent Authority for the recognition under Directive 2005/36/EC, of non-Irish professional qualifications of certain categories of health and social care professions for the purpose of recruitment to the publicly funded health sector in Ireland.

Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications, applies to all EEA nationals wishing to practise a regulated profession in an EU Member State other than that in which they obtained their professional qualifications, on either a self-employed or employed basis. Its intention is to make it easier for certain professionals to practise their professions in European countries other than their own but due safeguards are provided in the assessment of the qualifications for public health and safety and consumer protection. In certain circumstances, non-EEA nationals who are legally resident in Ireland can benefit from the provisions of the Directive.

For the purpose of the Directive, a regulated profession is defined as a professional activity access to which is subject, directly or indirectly, by virtue of legislative, regulatory or administrative provisions to the possession of specific professional qualifications. Where statutory registration does not exist for a profession in Ireland, as is the case with Psychology at present, non-Irish qualifications are assessed for their equivalence to the Irish entry-level qualifications required to work in the public health sector.

The Directive provides for mutual recognition of qualifications for certain professions. In the case of the health and social care professions, the Directive does not provide for automatic recognition of professional qualifications obtained in another Member State; it provides for an assessment, on a case-by-case basis, of the qualifications of an applicant against those required to practise in the host member state. If the activities covered by the profession in the home and the host member state are not comparable but deficits in the qualifications are identified, subsequent post-qualification professional experience of the applicant must be considered. If deficits still remain, the host Member State must offer an applicant a compensation measure, a choice of completing an adaptation period or taking an aptitude test.

EuroPsy the European standard of education and professional training in psychology set by the European Federation of Psychologists’ Association can form part of an individual’s application for assessment of qualification for equivalence to the Irish entry-level qualification required to work as a psychologist in the public health sector.

Source

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Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (Deputy Eamon Gilmore): The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) plays a critical role in ensuring humanitarian access to alleviate the suffering of millions of displaced people. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. It also has a mandate to help stateless people.4 million for the protection of refugees in Syria, Jordan, Chad, the Sahel, Somalia and elsewhere. This year we have already provided €8.6 million to UNHCR in core funding and emergency funding for refugees from Syria. 4 million for the protection of refugees in Syria, Jordan, Chad, the Sahel, Somalia and elsewhere. This year we have already provided €8.6 million to UNHCR in core funding and emergency funding for refugees from Syria. In this context I was particularly pleased to have the opportunity to meet with High Commissioner Guterres when he visited Ireland in October 2012 in advance of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. We discussed the escalating conflict in Syria and its impact on UNHCR’s work, including in Jordan where Minister of State Joe Costello T.D. had recently visited the Za’atari refugee camp.

Apart from the humanitarian crisis which dominated the headlines at the time I also raised the issue of the many so called “forgotten crises” from Chad, DRC, Mali and Somalia. I briefed Mr Guterres on Ireland’s funding for these crises while assuring him that we would continue to highlight this issue in international fora. I also shared with Mr Guterres my own personal impressions following my visit to Somalia in July 2012, during which I had the opportunity to see for myself the valuable work that UNHCR is doing on the ground. I also briefed Mr. Guterres on our plans for Ireland’s EU Presidency. We discussed our work to forge stronger links between the development and humanitarian agendas of the EU, as well as our role in coordinating EU positions for the international meeting on the Millennium Development Goals, to be held at the UN in September 2013.

Source

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Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (Deputy Eamon Gilmore): The Passport Service does not require that an applicant for an Irish passport, as part of the regular application process, provide details of any foreign passports held. Therefore, information on the number of Irish passport holders that hold passports of other states is not available. There is no prohibition under Irish law on Irish citizens holding the passport of another State. There are currently no plans to request such information.

Source

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Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter): A breakdown of the legal and travel costs incurred by my Department in relation to the areas raised by the Deputy is set out in the table below.

Table

I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, that in the period in question my Department incurred legal costs in a small number of cases heard before the European Court of Justice. The bill of costs for these cases also included legal costs relating to judicial proceedings taken in the Irish courts on which the European Court of Justice proceedings were predicated. Accordingly, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of the costs solely incurred in respect of the European Court of Justice hearings. I will communicate directly with the Deputy should this information become available.

Finally, I wish to inform the Deputy that, for the most part, the legal services sought by my Department are coordinated and paid for by the Office of the Attorney General and the Chief State Solicitor’s Office and are therefore not included in the above table.

Source

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Naturalisation Applications granted

Last Friday we were notified that four Nasc clients received approval of their naturalisation applications. One of these was a woman who Nasc had worked with for the past two years, (Nasc had successfully applied for an independent residence permission for her), after she presented as a victim of domestic violence. The second woman had previously held IBC/05 (Irish-born child scheme) status.The other two were both refugees who had previously been refused for minor non-violent offences.

Residence permission

An application by an asylum seeker for residence permission based on her marriage to a naturalised Irish citizen was granted. The couple had been waiting about 7 months for her residence permission to come through.

Family Reunification

Finally, our major success stories, the first family reunifications of the year were granted. In total three families’ applications have been successful. Our first client is a refugee who fled his country in 2011 and was granted refugee status within a short period of time. The application for family reunification was submitted in 2012 by Nasc. Nasc made strong representations to the Department of Justice regarding the danger his family members were in and the positive decision was received by us on Friday. The other two are both naturalised refugees.

Have you had good news on a successful application made with the support of Nasc’s legal advice team? Please let us know! Send an email to jennifer@nascireland.org.

The post Some sunshine in May! Good news stories appeared first on Nasc Ireland.

Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter): Since 2011, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, has established a pilot programme in Turkey in partnership with Marketing English in Ireland, MEI, a representative body of English language schools. This pilot project was put in place to contribute to positioning Ireland as a high quality destination for English language training. The programme has been extended for a further phase covering 2013 and 2014. INIS is open to negotiate and implement similar programmes for Turkey, a key market for English language education, with other high-quality ACELS accredited institutions.

Source

The post PQ: Visa Agreements (Turkish Students) appeared first on Nasc Ireland.

Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter): Section 15 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, specifies certain conditions which an applicant must fulfil in order to be eligible to apply for naturalisation. Section 16 of the Act provides that I can, in cases where the applicant is a parent or guardian acting on behalf of a minor of Irish descent or Irish association waive part or all of the statutory criteria when considering applications for naturalisation. In general, I only consider it appropriate to waive the statutory conditions for naturalisation where there are exceptional and compelling reasons why these conditions cannot be complied with and where there is no other option available to the applicant under the law. The usual manner by which children such as those referred to by the Deputy are granted citizenship is for a parent to become an Irish citizen in the first instance. Thereafter, it is open to the parent, if successful in their own application, to make an application on behalf of their children under the relevant provision. Such applications are dealt with as expeditiously as possible.

Source

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Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter): The Direct Provision system managed by the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) of my Department remains a key pillar of the State’s asylum and immigration system and I have no plans to end it at this time. Rather, my intention is that the factors which lead to delays in the processing of cases are dealt with so that asylum seekers spend as little time as is necessary in that accommodation system.

The direct provision system is not ideal but it is a system which facilitates the State providing a roof over the head of those seeking asylum or seeking other grounds to be allowed, on humanitarian grounds, to stay in the State. It allows the State to do it in a manner that facilitates resources being used economically in circumstances where the State is in financial difficulty. There are no cheaper alternatives to the Direct Provision system. A key finding in the 2010 Value for Money Report on the Direct Provision system was that if we were operating a system which facilitated asylum seekers in living independent lives in individual housing with social welfare support and payments, aside from the asylum ‘pull factor’ it would likely create, the cost to the exchequer would be double what is currently paid under the direct provision system.

There are currently 4,698 persons accommodated in direct provision across 34 centres. I do accept that the length of time spent in direct provision and the complexity of the asylum process itself is an issue which needs to be addressed. The accommodation system is inextricably linked to the surrounding asylum process. The revised Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill, which I intend to re-publish, should substantially simplify and streamline the existing arrangements for asylum, subsidiary protection and leave to remain applications. It will do this by making provision for the establishment of a single application procedure, so that applicants can be provided with a final decision on all aspects of their protection application in a more straight forward and timely fashion.

Pending the enactment and commencement of the new legislation and with a view to improving processing, I am proposing to introduce new arrangements for the processing of subsidiary protection applications in light of recent judgments in the Superior Courts. My Department, in consultation with the Attorney General’s Office, is developing a new legislative and administrative framework for the processing of current and future subsidiary protection applications. This work is being given high priority and applicants will be advised of the new arrangements as soon as possible.

Source

The post PQ: Asylum Support Services (Reform) appeared first on Nasc Ireland.

At Nasc, we are intensifying our political lobbying on the issue of direct provision and believe public support for this ongoing campaign is crucial. One of the ways you can continue supporting this campaign is through contacting political representatives. If you would like to send an email to Cork TDs Kathleen Lynch and David Stanton, see here for a pre-prepared email campaign. There is also a national petition – organised by the campaign coordinators, the Irish Refugee Council – which will remain open until World Refugee Day on June 20th. See here to sign the petition.

We will be posting updates on developments and further actions on our website. We’ll also be posting on our Facebook and Twitter. You can also sign up to our newsletter here if you want to receive updates on all the work we do here at Nasc.

The post ‘End Institutional Living’ campaign update appeared first on Nasc Ireland.

Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter): The Deputy of course will be aware that under the provisions of various EU legal instruments nationals of the EU Member States and the European Economic Area enjoy freedom of movement rights within the general area of the Union.

However, I can inform the Deputy that under section 4 of the Immigration Act 2004 an immigration officer may refuse to give permission to enter the State under certain circumstances, including where the non-national has been convicted of an offence that may be punished under the law of the place of conviction by imprisonment for a period of one year or by a more severe penalty. A non-national may also be refused permission to land or be in the State, if an immigration officer has reason to believe that the non-national’s entry into, or presence in the State, could pose a threat to national security or be contrary to public policy and also where there is reason to believe that a non-national intends to enter the State for purposes other than that expressed by him/her.

As well as the legal requirement that non-nationals seek permission to enter the State on arrival at approved ports of entry, as part of the visa application process for visa required nationals additional checks are carried out as required with An Garda Síochána and other countries’ immigration and police authorities. Checks are also carried out with the UK authorities in the context of maintaining the integrity of the Common Travel Area. Visa required nationals must also declare in their visa application if they have any criminal convictions in any country.

Furthermore, where any person who is not a citizen of Ireland or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, who is resident in the State, is known or suspected to have engaged in criminal activity, An Garda Síochána may provide relevant information to the Irish Naturalisation & Immigration Service (INIS) for the purpose of consideration being given to initiating a process for the purpose of arranging for their removal from the State pursuant to section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 or, if the person is an EU national, pursuant to Regulation 20 of the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2006.

Source

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Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter): Since 2011 the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service ( INIS ) has established pilot programmes in Turkey and China in partnership with Marketing English in Ireland ( MEI ). These pilot programmes, aimed at second level students and, separately, at third level students and executive level employees, have been put in place to help position Ireland as a high quality destination for English language students. These pilot programmes have now been extended for a further phase covering 2013 and 2014.

Approximately 100 applications for study under these programmes have been received at the INIS Visa Office in Beijing, China. Of these, about 75% were granted and 25% refused, with a few awaiting final decision. It is not possible to provide the detailed figures requested for applications received at the Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, nor for the number of students who have availed of these programmes from non-MEI member schools, as the relevant data is not held in a fashion which allows for such statistics to be readily compiled.

Source

The post PQ: Visa Applications (MEI Programme) appeared first on Nasc Ireland.

Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter): The Automated Visa Application Tracking System (AVATS), which is the system through which all visa applications are made on-line and processed, provides accurate statistics on all categories of visas worldwide. The Deputy may also wish to note that China is one of the seventeen countries covered by the Visa Waiver Programme which allows certain categories of visitor to the UK, including tourists, to travel on to Ireland without the need for an Irish visa. Central Statistics Office figures on trips to Ireland from various countries are used to extrapolate the uptake of the Programme.

Source

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Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter): The Immigrant Investor Programme was approved by Government in early 2012 and has been accepting applications since April 2012. The Programme offers residency in Ireland to foreign national investors who commit to approved investment options. Full details of the Immigrant Investor Programme are available from the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service web pages – www.inis.gov.ie. Ireland does not offer citizenship in return for investment. The naturalisation process is outlined in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, and applies to all foreign nationals who wish to become Irish citizens.

For the Deputy’s information, to date the total investment committed under both Programmes is of the order of €10.5 million and that it is projected that 270 jobs will be retained or created on foot of these investments in the ICT, recycling and financial services areas. In addition, two organisations, one educational and the other a charity, are receiving substantial endowments to support and develop their activities.

Source

The post PQ: Immigrant Investor Programme (Citizenship) appeared first on Nasc Ireland.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Deputy Richard Bruton): The recent MRCI Report on au pairs, which is referenced by the Deputy, expresses concern that au pairs are being used as a cheap form of child care, and highlights the lack of regulation of the industry. Issues regarding childcare fall within the remit of my colleague Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. Issues regarding employment rights fall within my remit. The term “au-pair” is not defined in Irish employment rights legislation. A genuine au pair placement falls outside the scope of the employer-employee relationship. I am aware that the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) has encountered individuals described as “au pairs” who have been found to be domestic employees and as such are fully protected by the State’s employment rights legislation. In these instances NERA investigates employers who are using the term “au pair” to avoid their statutory obligations under employment law. Where the employment status of an individual is in question, the provisions of the “Code of Practice Determining the Employment or Self-Employment Status of Individuals” are used in order to determine the employment status of the relationship. Ireland’s body of employment rights legislation protects all employees legally employed on an employer-employee basis in Ireland. Therefore, once it is clear that a person is working under a contract of employment in another person’s home, on a full-time or part-time basis, that person has the same protection under employment law as other employees. Where a person has concerns that employees may be exploited or are receiving less than their statutory entitlement, the matter may be reported to NERA for investigation. Cases for redress on matters relating to Employment Equality or Employment Rights legislation can be made on the workplace relations complaint form available from NERA or online at www.workplacerelations.ie.

Source

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Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (Deputy Eamon Gilmore): The UN Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights opened for signature by UN Member States in New York in September 2009. To date, forty-two States have signed; this includes twelve of the twenty-seven European Union member States. Ten States have ratified the Optional Protocol: Argentina, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mongolia, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Uruguay. The Optional Protocol came into force on 5 May 2013, three months after the deposit with the United Nations Secretary General of the tenth instrument of ratification or accession.

Ireland’s signature of the Optional Protocol took place on 23 March 2012.

Ratification of the Optional Protocol is a separate step, which will be preceded by a thorough screening of the obligations to be assumed. This will require extensive consultation with all Departments involved and consideration by the Government in due course.

Source

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The 1946 Industrial Relations Act was specifically enacted to provide that a union or unions representing a majority of workers in a particular industry – and the employers representing a majority in that industry – could, if both agreed, register an agreement on pay and conditions with the Labour Court, which would then have legal status. I am seeking clarity from the Minister following what happened on Thursday. There was much coverage of this issue at the weekend. It must be clearly spelled out that the existing agreements remain in force unless renegotiated, so that workers already in contract are protected under the national contract of employment.

My second question concerns the problem with new agreements. Can employers now bring in immigrant workers on pay that is just above the minimum wage, or based on their own countries’ minimum wage levels? An unemployed friend of mine has informed me about a recent advertisement in Poland seeking 900 electricians to do a big contract job in Intel. Workers here are obviously concerned about this.

Deputy Joan Collins: ] Those affected are mainly construction workers, electrical contractors and plumbers. Will the Minister act to legalise the REAs through the Dáil, as we had to do before, without watering down the pay and conditions of these workers?

Deputy Barry Cowen: We acknowledge that there are certain sectors affected by the judgment on REAs that benefit from greater flexibility and the freedom to ensure wages reflect the economic reality. This would help boost employment in those sectors and disincentivise black market labour. Many employers that comply with REAs are being undercut by unscrupulous employers paying lower wages off the books. Following the Supreme Court ruling, it is essential we do not allow a free-for-all to emerge. We want confirmation from the Government that there will not be a surge of employers suddenly moving to unilaterally reduce the wages of workers who have been covered by REAs until now or seeking to displace existing staff with new employees on inferior terms. Existing legislative protection which applies to all employees in the State must be rigorously enforced. Guidelines must be set down to ensure engagement between employers and employees on any renegotiated terms and conditions in these sectors.

Industrial peace, as the Minister knows, is very important in attracting foreign direct investment. Despite the upheaval in the construction industry in recent years, it has not been hit by widespread strike action. Swift action by the Government is necessary to prevent a vacuum from emerging. Has the Minister consulted with the Attorney General in response to this judgment? What legislation is he preparing on that and when can we expect it to be in place? It is most important that we do not allow a vacuum to emerge after this judgment, which would create unforeseen difficulties for the sectors affected by REAs.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Deputy Richard Bruton): I thank Deputies Joan Collins and Barry Cowen for raising this important matter and giving me the opportunity to respond. An employment agreement is an agreement governing conditions of employment, made between a trade union and an employer or employer organisation. Such agreements may be presented to the Labour Court for registration. Where the Labour Court is satisfied that the agreement presented satisfies the statutory requirements, it registers the agreement. Under the provisions of Part III of the Industrial Relations Act 1946, prior to its amendment by the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act of 2012, the effect of this registration was to make the provisions of the agreement legally enforceable even in respect of workers or employers that are not party to the agreement.

From the parties’ perspectives, the primary objectives of REAs are to provide them with a sense of certainty around terms and conditions that will apply when the employers are tendering for and working through contracts, and to have in place agreed grievance and industrial peace provisions. The agreements also have the effect of ensuring the industry terms and conditions are recognised and maintained. In addition, the existence of these legally-backed agreements is recognised under European Union law and ensures, in accordance with the posted workers directive, that contractors from outside the jurisdiction who may be using employees from lower-wage economies do not obtain an advantage over local contractors in terms of wage costs.

Six sectoral REAs were registered by the Labour Court, two in the construction sector and one each covering electrical contracting, printing, overhead power line contractors and Dublin drapery, footwear and allied trades. It is estimated that between 70,000 and 80,000 workers were covered by these sectoral agreements. In addition, there were almost 70 employment agreements covering individual enterprises.

As Deputies will be aware, in recent years there has been a continuing series of legal challenges to the JLC and REA systems, including the 2001 John Grace Fried Chicken case, which resulted in the High Court’s striking down all employment regulation orders, EROs. A High Court challenge to the validity of the electrical contracting REA as well as the constitutionality of the 1946 Act was successfully defended in 2010 by the State. The decision was appealed to the Supreme Court. On 1 August last, informed by the judgment of the John Grace Fried Chicken case, a new legal framework for REAs and EROs was put in place by way of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act of 2012. The Act provided for more comprehensive measures designed to strengthen the constitutional and legal framework for both the JLC and REA sectoral wage-setting mechanisms, such as the specification of the procedures to be followed by the Labour Court and the provision of enhanced oversight and discretion by the Minister and the Oireachtas. The Act also reinstated a robust system of protection of workers in these sectors.

In a judgment delivered on 9 May in McGowan and others v. the Labour Court, Ireland and the Attorney General, the Supreme Court held that Part III of the Industrial Relations Act 1946 was invalid having regard to Article 15.2.1° of the Constitution. That Article provides, in effect, that the exclusive power to make laws is vested in the Oireachtas. The Supreme Court took the view that REAs are instruments having the status of laws made by private individuals. While the Constitution allows for the limited delegation of law-making functions, the provisions of the 1946 Act went beyond what is permissible under the Constitution. The effect of this decision is to invalidate the REA agreements previously registered under Part III of the 1946 Act. In consequence, the Labour Court no longer has jurisdiction to enforce, interpret or otherwise apply these agreements. As a result, all such agreements no longer have any application beyond subscribing parties and are not enforceable in law. This is a significant judgment that requires careful consideration. The Attorney General had been asked to supply advice on the issues arising from this judgment.

Contracts of employment will remain. They are separate from the enforceability of the REAs. While there is no such agreement in place, employers can seek to renegotiate or a new employer can employ on new terms. We have requested advice from the Attorney General and we are awaiting that advice, which will be with us shortly. We will not delay in responding.

Deputy Joan Collins: I thank the Minister for clarifying that. The point I want to stress is that there should be no vacuum that might leave workers vulnerable. I made the point regarding the advertisement in Poland seeking 900 workers for a big contract in Intel and offering only €10 per hour. While we have electricians sitting at home in Ireland who cannot get jobs, that will cause a lot of concern among unemployed workers. The Attorney General is to advise the Minister, but does he think legislation will need to be introduced, and how quickly does he think it can be brought to the Dáil? It is very important that we do that.

Deputy Barry Cowen: I thank the Minister for his response. I reaffirm my fears. I expect the Minister in the short term might confirm what he said regarding contracts of employment being legally binding. Those contracts of employment were based on the conditions and terms of REAs and I hope they are not deemed to be illegal based on the unconstitutionality of REAs, as the Minister rightly said. If he can confirm that with a degree of finality, without having to refer to the Attorney General, that is fine and we will accept it.

Regarding any proposed legislation that will emanate from the findings of the Attorney General in her response to this judgment, will the Minister ask for a degree of flexibility that may not be contained in the existing REAs struck some time ago that will help the sectors concerned while being cognisant of the economic realities regarding wages in those sectors? I do not decry those agreements.

[Deputy Barry Cowen: ] I expect that any future legislation would not be deemed to be unconstitutional by any such court. However, there must be sectoral support and guarantees for those areas in which we had REAs in the first place and have continued to have them in the intervening years.

Deputy Richard Bruton: I can give an assurance to Deputies Cowen and Collins that existing contracts remain and can only be altered by agreement. The fact that the REAs have been struck down, therefore, does not alter the contract an individual has with his or her employer. The same applied when the EROs were struck down – the contracts remained and the record will show there was no wholesale cutting of wages as a result of the period during which they were not underpinned.

Deputy Collins asked what would happen to the REAs. Obviously they will have to be reconstituted under the 2012 Act. The Deputy asked if new legislation was needed. The 2012 Act was drafted after this case was initiated and in that legislation we sought to establish policies and principles that would guide the establishment of such orders and agreements as well as reviews by the Labour Court that would ensure the workers and employers were representative of the broad category for which they claimed to negotiate, and so on. A number of hurdles are involved. These issues come to me, as Minister, and are laid before the Oireachtas. This was all designed to deal with the legal frailties that had been established in the John Grace Fried Chicken case.

In answer to Deputy Cowen’s point, the new 2012 Act provides for principles and policies, including looking at the competitiveness of the sector as defined in broad terms in the Act. It provides that in the formation of a new REA the whole environment must be considered and, in that sense, it allows a review of the competitiveness, flexibility and appropriateness to the economic conditions in which the agreement is negotiated. We will wait for wait for advices from the Attorney General in order to have full understanding of the judgment before we proceed but that is the position at present, as I understand it.

Source

The post PQ: Registered Employment Agreements (Migrant Workers) appeared first on Nasc Ireland.

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Deputy Frances Fitzgerald): I recently met representatives of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland in relation to these matters. It transpired from our discussions that the issues of concern were primarily in relation to the establishment and protection of employment rights. As such it is a matter for the consideration of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, whose function it is to establish and protect employment rights, as would the introduction of any regulatory framework.

Source

The post PQ: Employment Rights Issues (Au Pairs) appeared first on Nasc Ireland.

106. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if au pairs recruited and placed by an agency are covered by the provisions of the Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Workers) Act; and if not if he will identify the relevant sections of legislation that excludes such workers.

107. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of au pairs currently working here; and the steps taken to regulate this employment.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Deputy Richard Bruton): I propose to take Questions Nos. 105 to 107, inclusive, together.

The term “au-pair” is not defined in Irish employment rights legislation. A genuine au pair placement falls outside the scope of the employer-employee relationship and, therefore, I do not have any statistics on au pairs.

Accordingly, agencies offering genuine au pair placements fall outside the scope of the Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act, 2012.

I am aware that NERA has encountered individuals described as “au pairs” who have been found to be domestic employees and as such are fully protected by the State’s employment rights legislation. In these instances NERA investigates employers who are using the term ‘au pair’ to avoid their statutory obligations under employment law. Where the employment status of an individual is in question, the provisions of the “Code of Practice Determining the Employment or Self-Employment Status of Individuals” are used in order to determine the employment status of the relationship.

Ireland’s body of employment rights legislation protects all employees employed on an employer-employee basis in Ireland. Therefore, once it is clear that a person is working under a contract of employment in another person’s home, on a full-time or part-time basis, that person has the same protection under law (including the right to the National Minimum Wage) as all other employees.

Guidance and information for both workers and employers as to the employment of persons in domestic situations is contained in the “Code of Practice for Protecting Persons Employed in Other People’s Homes” which was developed in 2007 by Labour Relations Commission in consultation with social partners. Further information on employment rights is available by phone from 1890 80 80 90 or online from www.workplacerelations.ie.

Where people have concerns that employees may be exploited or are receiving less than their statutory entitlement, the matter may be reported to NERA for investigation. Cases for redress on matters relating to Employment Equality or Employment Rights legislation can be made on the workplace relations complaint form available from NERA or online at www.workplacerelations.ie.

Source

The post PQ: Employment Rights Issues (Au Pairs) appeared first on Nasc Ireland.

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Deputy Frances Fitzgerald): In the first instance, I would like to clarify that the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) is a functional unit of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS), a division of the Department of Justice and Equality. RIA is charged with providing accommodation and ancillary services to asylum seekers, that is, adults and their children, under the Direct Provision system while their applications for asylum are processed. I am advised that Direct Provision centres are monitored three times a year, twice by Department of Justice staff and once by an external company.

The revised Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children was published in July, 2011. The Guidance deals with the recognition, reporting and management of child welfare and safety concerns. It sets out a number of key messages relating to the duty to protect children and support their welfare. The scope of Children First extends beyond the reporting of suspected neglect, abuse and welfare concerns. It emphasises the importance of multi disciplinary, inter-agency working in the management of such concerns. Key to this is the sharing of information between agencies and disciplines in the best interests of children and the need for full co-operation to ensure better outcomes.

The HSE has advised me that concerns about the welfare, safety or wellbeing of a child in Direct Provision are reported to the HSE Children and Family Services, in line with Children First. Referrals include welfare concerns such as a parent being hospitalised, parental illness, a child being left unsupervised by an adult or mental health concerns regarding the parent, while a smaller number would relate to child protection concerns.

There is a specific unit within RIA -the Child and Family Services Unit – whose role is to manage, deliver, co-ordinate, monitor and plan all matters relating to child and family services for all asylum seekers residing in the direct provision system. This unit also links, where necessary, directly with an Garda Síochána.

I would like to assure the Deputy that I have had ongoing contact with my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Law Reform and that senior officials within my Department have engaged with the HSE, to ensure that children who residing in Direct Provision are afforded the same levels of welfare and protection that their counterparts in the wider community are afforded.

Source

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Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Alan Shatter): I refer the Deputy to my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 194 of 1 May 2013, below. The position is unchanged since then.

I refer the Deputy to my replies to Parliamentary Questions No. 54456 of 4 December 2012, No. 2999 of 22 January 2013, No. 4077 of 5 February 2013 and No. 10664 of 27 February 2013. As I explained in response to these previous questions, the Government has undertaken in its Programme for Government to ensure that people of non-faith or minority religious backgrounds and publically identified lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people should not be deterred from training or taking up employment as teachers in the State. I have previously expressed concern about the potential impact of section 37 of the Employment Equality Acts on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. This section is designed to allow schools and other institutions to maintain their religious ethos. It was examined by the Supreme Court in 1996 when the Employment Equality Bill of 1996 was referred to it under Article 26 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court found that it is a reasonable balancing in legislation of the different rights involved, including chiefly the right to earn a living and the rights to freedom of religion and association. I am concerned however that, in practice, the balance is not a fair one and that in practice this provision can operate in a way that is unfair to LGBT persons. I consider that an extensive consultative process and formal assessment of the options should be undertaken. On 16 April, I announced the names of 14 new members designate of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. In advance of legislation to establish the new Commission, the members designate will take up their positions on the two existing bodies that are being merged, the Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission. I will be meeting the Commissioners shortly. As I have previously explained, I intend to ask them to examine this issue as a priority. I hope they will complete this consultation process quickly and report on their views and recommendations to the two Ministers centrally concerned, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn and myself as the Minister for Justice and Equality and to the House. I am committed, once this necessary consultation process is completed, to bringing forward Government proposals for any necessary anti-discrimination amendment to this provision. In this context, the Government has welcomed the Private Members’ Employment Equality (Amendment) (No.2) Bill which has passed Second Stage in the Seanad. During the Second Stage reading of the Bill, my colleague Minister of State Kathleen Lynch signalled to the House the Government’s intention to take forward this Bill, with any amendments that might be needed, with Government support for enactment.

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