Clerk to the Committee:

I started with those involved in the school building programme in the Department of Education and Skills. I spoke to them and provided a note for committee members yesterday evening. It lists some of the controls that have been put in place, including requiring declaration of a tax free certificate. They also have a company carrying out random audits which refers any case of malpractice to the appropriate authorities - Revenue, the Department of Social Protection and the National Employment Rights Authority, NERA. There is a problem in the school building sector owing to the fact that registered employment agreements can no longer be enforced. This is causing difficulty because some are only paying minimum wage which may contribute to bringing other issues back into the system.

I propose that, in order to have a meeting on the issue, we seek a detailed note from each Department, including the Department of Social Protection, Revenue, the NRA and NERA and then bring in all of these groups for a meeting with the committee which would focus on the black economy in regard to public sector contracts.