Gerald Nash (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the representatives from the WRC and the Health and Safety Authority for their commitment to this process and scheme from the get go. Of course this is a relatively new scheme, and it is fair to say they were both early adopters and very committed to making the scheme work, notwithstanding some of the major challenges that were apparent from the outset.

I was going to ask the question Senator Gavan posed about recovered moneys in terms of non-payment of wages. The issue has been raised with me and with others consistently and I am aware of some cases that might be ongoing. I hope they can be expedited as quickly as possible because there is also the question, as far as those involved in the scheme are concerned, of ensuring that there is confidence in the authorities and that when complaints are made, cases are dealt with expeditiously. I have no doubt that the WRC is dealing with those cases very efficaciously.

I understand there may have been some resistance to inspections from some quarters, again notwithstanding some of the excellent work the witnesses have done with the producer organisations, representatives of which were here earlier. Those organisations value that in terms of the obligations they have under the scheme and so on and their wish to be compliant. Are the witnesses experiencing any degree of resistance to the inspections at present? That is a question for the representatives from the WRC and the Health and Safety Authority.

I have a final question for the Health and Safety Authority. I think Mr. O'Halloran expressed very well earlier the fact that there may be some confusion as to where the Health and Safety Authority's functions begin and end and where the MSO's responsibilities begin and end. The MSO, of course, is responsible for health and safety at sea, to put it broadly, and for the safety of vessels, whereas the Health and Safety Authority is responsible for the workplace matters it defined earlier. How does the Health and Safety Authority resolve with the MSO those issues when they arise? Does it have a relationship with the MSO to resolve those issues - notwithstanding the attitude the MSO has had from the outset to this scheme in general and to the memorandum of understanding in particular - in the light of what Mr. Higgisson said earlier?