Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Is it not problematic that the Minister's answer is so algebraic, namely, "If it is this of this, then it is this"? That is just maths, not a report. We are supposed to have a report to find out what the problems are. The Minister does not have an estimate of how much money is lost by the State. He is only able to tell me that if it is this, then it is this. That is fine, but it is not much of an answer. It is illustrative of the fact that the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is not keeping records of bogus self-employment.

The committee might address this issue in future. If the gain was €60 million per annum, which is close to ICTU's figure, then it would be a substantial amount in terms of what could be done with that money.