Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would like to witnesses to talk about the projects mentioned and, specifically, the Newlands Cross M11 project. It is a PPP, so the Department provided funding to the NRA to proceed with the project. The Department funds major construction projects and receives that through a Vote from the Oireachtas, which works its way through the NRA to the PPP project. What action does Mr. O'Mahony take to ensure the projects funded from the Oireachtas are being carried out in a manner compliant with tax and social welfare codes? What specific procedures are in place for these projects? We went through this with the Department of Education and Skills on the schools building projects. Subcontractors on the projects insist that the people working on them are in receipt of, and continue to claim, jobseeker's allowance so that they do not have to pay the official rate. This is an ongoing situation with major Government contracts. Someone gets the contract, the Department washes its hands of it and it goes down to a subcontractor, who insists on taking people who are on the dole. Not only that; the workers cannot get their PRSI paid and when the work is over, the workers have made no PRSI contributions. The tender was granted on the basis that the workers were paid the approved construction industry rates. The employer got the job but is not paying the rates tendered for. Will the Secretary General investigate these issues?