Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Generally we agree with the Opposition in that we would like to see an increase in the penalties to act as a greater deterrent. While we are not waiting for social partnership discussions to conclude it will be discussed in that context. We are in favour of strong deterrents to prevent unscrupulous employers from breaking the law.

Our preferred policy, on which we have worked with the social partners, is to move towards a system that seeks and secures redress from employers, by agreement, where it is acknowledged that wrong has been done or the law has not been upheld. Going to court can sometimes be lengthy and is not always as effective as we might like to think. We have a variety of sanctions for employers found guilty of exploiting workers and so on, not least the withholding of work permits in the future.

We are taking a twin-track approach, namely, increasing the deterrents and establishing whether there are better ways to enforce labour law. The most recent and interesting case is Gama Construction in which our officials recouped and retrieved substantial funds and moneys for the workers concerned. The officials also sought assurances from Gama Construction about its future performance.

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