Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

The role of the National Employment Rights Authority, NERA, is to ensure employment legislation is complied with and its purpose is to educate and inform to ensure companies are aware of their obligations and employees are aware of their entitlements. In this context there is a strong emphasis on information and education with programmes being rolled out in various sectors of the economy. Labour inspectors will be targeting specific areas and will soon launch a programme, under the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996, to ensure young people are not exploited in the approach to Christmas.

There will be 90 inspectors by the end of the year and great interest was shown by people with language skills. This is a welcome development due to the diverse nature of today's economy and the potential exploitation that immigrants face, which we must ensure is not allowed to permeate the economy. Language inspectors will be engaging in discussions and the unions played an important role in this area; I recently met representatives of the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union, SIPTU, regarding how it will inform its members of the role of NERA. It is a proactive organisation and we will have 90 inspectors by the end of the year who will educate, inform and enforce.

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