John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the delegates for their insightful and useful presentation. It certainly blows completely out of the water the myth of the Minister that bogus self-employment is not extensive across the State. The evidence the delegates have outlined hits that point home.

Mr. Dooley spoke about the difficulties in RTÉ. He is dead right that bogus self-employment is not confined to the State broadcaster only, that it is endemic across the sector. I am aware that in Leinster House those who operate the communications cameras are also engaged in scoping exercises. It is happening here in this institution. That is how extensive the problem is.

Ms King outlined the conservative figure of €240 million for the defrauding of tax and PRSI in the construction sector. I assume that is the figure on an annual basis. One would not need to be an Einstein to do the mathematics. If one were to apply that figure to all sectors, we would be dealing with a conservative annual figure in excess of €1 billion, yet in all areas of the scope section and the joint investigations unit, we see minuscule numbers of people being cited.

The point about the State procurement process is important. It is a job of work for the committee to also delve into that matter.

Mr. Wall mentioned Carillion and the six workers who had been engaged. I am aware of some of them. I am also aware of the difficulties, not only in the context of Carillion because workers I know were engaged in another State procurement project, a housing construction project in my constituency, that ran into financial difficulties the other side of Christmas. Some of the workers were also caught up in Carillion. It has an impact not only on workers' rights but also on redundancy. Some of the workers were caught up twice in that process on State projects. That should be enough for the Department to lose the false sense that the problem is not endemic. The reality is that it is.