Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I am concerned the Government is increasingly using the partnership talks process as an excuse to hold back on urgently needed legislation. We heard it in the response to the previous question, when Deputy Howlin and I were told that partnership talks were being used to negotiate protection for domestic workers. In this case the talks are being used to negotiate harsher penalties for rogue employers. SIPTU describes the penalties for non-compliance with employment rights legislation as "so paltry as to have absolutely no deterrent effect" and I agree.

Does the Minister agree that some employers calculate the savings to be gained by exploiting workers far outweigh the penalties imposed in the unlikely event of being caught doing so? Does he agree there is increased evidence of exploitation, particularly in the past year, that suggests we need to increase deterrents for these rogue employers, including penalties against them?

How many employers were subject to penalties for non-compliance with employment rights legislation in 2005? What was the largest such penalty imposed on an employer in 2005, a year of unprecedented revelations of worker exploitation?

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