Martin in favour of work permit transfer

The Minister for Enterprise has said he is personally in favour of transferring work permits for migrant workers from employers to employees.

However, he said he wants to ensure this does not accidentally make them worse off.

Micheál Martin told the Dáil that the forthcoming Employment Permits Bill would give the minister power to allow workers to hold the permits. 

However, he told Sinn Féin's Arthur Morgan there were counter-arguments, including the fact that the current system was easy to administer because when there were complaints the companies were registered. 

He said he did not want to create more opportunities for exploitation.