A flaw exposed

The High Court ruling that denies a Pakistani chef, who was “the victim of the most appalling exploitation by his employer” an award of €92,000 demands an early response from our legislators.

Mr Younis, a father of nine, was denied the award because his employment contract, through no fault of his, was substantively illegal.

It is entirely appropriate that Mr Justice Gerard Hogan will send a copy of his judgment to the Oireachtas so the loophole might be reviewed.

Migration is a fact of our world as is, sadly, the exploitation of the poor and vulnerable. Human trafficking facilitates the slavery of our times. As a society drained by the never-ending cycle of emigration we should have enough empathy with the plight of economic immigrants to Ireland to offer basic protections to those in need of them. It is after all the very least we would expect for Irish workers building a new life in a foreign country.