Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 27 April 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Protection of Young Persons (Employment) (Exclusion of Workers in the Fishing and Shipping Sectors) Regulations 2021

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

The Deputy has correctly identified that further detail on this issue is a matter for the Minister for Transport. My understanding is that there are approximately 170 boats in the scheme. The Deputy may have more up-to-date information, but that is the information in my possession. My understanding is that those boats generally are not operated by non-EEA officials. There are regulations in place and they are enforced. If members have concerns, they can bring them forward and I will have them checked out. I have no issue with doing that. In terms of a greater in-depth knowledge around this, it is probably best to discuss it with either the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine or the Department of Transport. Whenever we have a role in this area, the Workplace Relations Commission and our officials usually react to deal with it. On occasion, they have, as would be the case with any sector, reacted within an hour or hour and a half of a situation having been brought to their attention.

As already stated, this is not a sector with which I am overly familiar. I know many people in the business and I know they are honourable. It is fair to say that there will always be individuals in every sector who will not be honourable, but that does not mean that we should paint everyone with the same brush. Hopefully, we are not doing that. The legislation and all of the transposed directives are there to protect employees and employers and to encourage everybody to follow best practice and the regulations to ensure the protection of employees. As referenced by the Deputy, there are sectors that are particularly vulnerable and we are seeking to ensure that this does not happen.

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