Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

I think those statistics are important because initiating a prosecution and bringing it to a conclusion are two entirely different things.

The Minister of State is aware of the Labour Party's position on the Health and Safety Authority and he has heard it often enough from Deputy Howlin. Most of us were under the impression that, in this instance, the inspectors unearthed wrongdoing by employers or saw to it that they were compliant. It would appear, however, that the inspectors are now being contacted by employees on a small scale and are then bringing prosecutions. Surely that should be the central job of the various organisations dealing with people who claim to be badly treated at work, rather than being a function of the labour inspectorate. It is outrageous to have the inspectorate tied up at that level. Are there plans to organise the inspectorate in such as way that its sole function would be to inspect places of employment? Construction sites are not the only locations where workers' rights are abused, other areas are also involved. How many initiated prosecutions were concluded?

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