Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are 227 people on the scheme. Officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Justice administer the atypical scheme. Officials in my Department sit on the relevant group. The case referenced by the Deputy is being investigated and has kicked off a number of other investigations.

On the sector generally, this is not an area in which I am an expert, but I understand from my engagement with my officials and the Workplace Relations Commission that it is heavily investigated and regulated, with the majority having been investigated regularly over the past couple of years. Up to 98% of those involved have been reached. Some of the Deputy's questions are for the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan. What we are doing here today is trying to strengthen the legislation to give more protections to this cohort of young workers.

The Deputy has raised many cases over the years. There is legislation in place. Some people will try to abuse it or find a way around it. Our job is to address that when it happens. There are a number of agencies in this sector and they carry out a high number of investigations. I cannot comment as to how prevalent the abuse is because I am not involved in the sector. As mentioned by Deputy Stanton, it is assumed that in most sectors the majority of employers are good. We have laws in place to deal with those who are not. It is vital we get that information. The agencies would react to information brought forward. When cases of the type identified by the Deputy are brought to their attention they are investigated immediately. Once a notification is received, staff are deployed within hours to investigate it.