Yesterday, 30 January 2019, members of Stamp 3 Association visited Houses of the Oireachtas to sit at the review of petition supporting the access to the workplace for spouses, partners and dependents of non-EEA expatriates granted work permits.
Joint Committee on Public Petitions lead by Seán Sherlock has agreed to correspond further with the Department of Justice and Equality asking for the update on the ongoing issue and leave the petition open until the parties are satisfied with the outcome.
“People with stamp 3 visa are associated with workers, who are responding to the critical skills shortage in Ireland. And therefore they are effectively facilitating the growth of our economy and in many ways keeping the economy going. I think the case is very strong for allowing stamp 3 people to work as a right, without going to the work permit system.” - said Deputy Brendan Ryan. “I think that this will provide a little bit of justice to the family, while removing some of the burden from the work permit system. So certainly, I would agree with the recommendation of this Committee that we should keep the petition open. I do know that both involved departments seem to be quite positive in terms of seeking to resolve the issue, but I think that’s important that we maintain our interest in that“.
The Committee also forwarded the reply from the concerned Department to Stamp 3 Association, where they indicated that work aimed at streamlining this process is underway:
“Both Departments [Department of Justice and Equality and Department of Business Enterprise and Innovation] are anxious to work together to streamline processes and INIS and DBEI work closely on matters of mutual interest. At this most recent meeting this matter was discussed and there was agreement to find solutions to it and further communications is ongoing in this regard. From a policy perspective there is a willingness, where possible, to remove any administrative barriers to the workplace for those who have already been granted an immigration permission which carries with it access to the workplace.”
Stamp 3 Association has high hopes for efficient cooperation of both departments and expects prompt and effective decisions on this vital issue.
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