Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge what the Tánaiste has said. To be frank, as someone who has worked as a trade union officer for over a decade, that number of inspectors is inadequate given the increase in precarious work in recent years and the shocking abuses in the fishing and the hotel industries, in particular. The number of inspectors needs to be addressed. In fairness to the Tánaiste's staff and the Workplace Relations Commission, they are completely understaffed in terms of tackling the abuses that are quite widespread and rampant in some sectors of our economy, and I stress the words "some sectors of our economy". We know, from first-hand knowledge, that the bodies do not have the resources they need to tackle the problem, and employers also know. The situation sends out the wrong signal entirely.