83. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment further to Parliamentary Question No. 60 of 27 October 2022, if he will provide a status update on the work of the cross-departmental group to oversee the implementation of the transition from the atypical scheme for non-EEA crew in the Irish fishing fleet to the employment permits scheme; the number of meetings that the group has held to date; the dates of same; the terms of reference of the group; the membership of the group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62036/22]

The Department of Justice recently published the Review of the Atypical Scheme for non-EEA Crew in the Irish Fishing Fleet who had been catered for under the Atypical Working Scheme (AWS) since 2015. The report and its recommendations followed an extensive consultation process with stakeholders involved in the scheme.

Two of the recommendations of the Review Group are that the employment of non-EEA crew in the Irish fishing fleet should be provided for under the Employment Permit scheme and that a cross-departmental group comprising senior officials in relevant departments and agencies be established to oversee implementation of the transition.

This group will be co-chaired by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, with the overall time frame for implementation of the report’s recommendations is expected to be approximately 12 months.

The work of the Group will be initiated after receipt of an evidence-based submission to remove the occupation of fishers from the Ineligible Occupations List from the fishing sector as advised.