James Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Fleming for his presentation. This is deeply disturbing. It would appear that these workers have no protection.

As the witness said, all the power is with the employer. However, I am glad he pointed out that not all employers in this sector are guilty of this behaviour. There must be enforcement, because clearly that has been lacking. I fully agree on the need to invite the various stakeholders here to address this, no holds barred, and then examine the issue. It crosses five Departments and, without being pejorative, there is the old saying that when everyone is responsible, no one is responsible. Clearly, due process is not taking place here. People cannot get due process. They are afraid. Someone mentioned our history. That and the values we have dictate that we must act. All members of the committee wish to have this issue addressed and to stop this gross exploitation of people. If they are Irish boats, it is being done in our name and I certainly do not want that. I doubt that anyone here does. These are clearly vulnerable workers so they must be our top priority in addressing this and in getting the various actors before the committee to explain themselves. When the witness is responding, perhaps he would concisely outline what he believes must be done in a practical, pragmatic fashion.

I will not be political about this because I do not believe it is an issue for politics. It is something the committee members should address together. However, let us address what we can address and not try to address all the other areas where we do not have a remit and which we cannot address. The rights of these workers are an issue for this committee and it is one we must address aggressively. We must invite representatives of the various Departments and have a proper approach put in place. If the bottom line is that this is a matter of lack of enforcement, that must be addressed and people must be held accountable for not so doing.