Undocumented workers in fishing industry to be given work permits

Five hundred migrant workers who are illegally working in Ireland’s fishing industry will be given work permits following an inter-Departmental agreement.

Employment Minister Ged Nash said the move would ensure that migrant workers “enjoy the same protections as apply to every other worker in Ireland”.

The new scheme allows for the granting of up to 500 atypical worker permissions to non-EEA crewmen to work under a contract of employment with the vessel owner so as to guarantee the worker certain minimum terms and conditions of employment.

It is part of the Government’s response to reported labour exploitation practices which were thrown into a spotlight after an investigation by The Guardian.

A year-long investigation by the newspaper purported to turn up evidence of migrant workers in the fishing industry being subjected to illegal practices and being paid less than the minimum wage.

Agriculture, Food and the Marine Minister Simon Coveney, who chaired a Government task force on the issue, said: “The new scheme will, I believe, greatly reduce the possibilities for the abuse of migrant works by unscrupulous employers.

“It will also provide a mechanism to assist those currently in Ireland, who are in difficult situations, to enter a new employment relationship. It will also help to improve the situation for Ireland’s operators in the fishing industry whose reputation may have been damaged by these allegations, due to the widespread coverage of the matter.”

Mr Nash added: “What we have now is a new scheme to assist non EEA workers who are already operating on Irish vessels and a process to fill vacancies on licensed trawlers that is robust and fair.

“The new system introduces clear contracts and minimum pay, terms and conditions which are enforceable in Irish and EU law. In other words these fishermen will now enjoy the same protections as apply to every other worker in Ireland.”

The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI), which engaged with the Government task force, has previously said there is “a need for a broad-based regularisation which complements the sectoral approach being proposed”.