John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

If our guests would comment on some anecdotal evidence I have, I would be more than happy. A gentleman approached me recently. He had worked on building sites since he was first able to do so. Given the absence of joint labour committees, JLCs, and registered employment agreements, REAs, there has been considerable growth in the number of agency workers. Like him, most workers are now agency staff and their rights are not being observed. He referred to banksmen and crane drivers working on particularly windy days when they knew that they should not have been up there and the growing fear that the job of the safety officer, who was also an agency worker and who wanted to be called back for work again the next day, was not being fulfilled properly. I do not expect the HSA to be able to work miracles but I assume that, given the precarious nature of the workforce in the wake of absent legislation, anecdotal evidence can be viewed as the truth. Is the HSA aware of this situation?