Mr. Patrick Murphy:

Deputy Neville said I used the word "traders" but the word I used was "agents". This is a family business and the person in question is from the Philippines. His mother is also involved in bringing over workers, not just for the fishing industry and not just to Ireland but for many areas and industries. They set up contracts in their own country, where there are different rules. Members can ask the WRC about this but it told us that if we do not pay a person but pay a third party instead, it can be construed as trafficking. There was no other system of getting workers. The Deputy asked about EU workers and, of course, there are EU workers but figures suggesting 500 or 600 non-EU workers surprise us. Given the number of vessels in our fleet, they do not add up.