Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

There appears to be a general impression that agency workers are mainly from overseas and are mainly poorly paid. One of the problems in addressing issues that arise in this area is the lack of hard data. I trust the work being undertaken by the CSO will help to inform and clarify some of the issues in this respect. It is too broad a generalisation to equate agency workers with migrant workers. This society and economy are becoming more complex. Nevertheless, the unprecedented expansion of the economy over the past decade clearly has provided opportunities for exploitation, particularly in the case of those newly arrived in the country who are not aware of their very extensive employment rights. Combating such abuses requires action from Government agencies, which will be forthcoming, and other representative groups in broader society.

We must move with clarity of purpose and resolution to use effectively the considerable resources now available to avoid and combat such exploitation. The Government does not and will never accept exploitation of workers. It will always work to eradicate and eliminate exploitation and to penalise and punish those who perpetrate such acts. It has demonstrated this through the establishment of the National Employment Rights Authority in consort with the social partners.

However, it also must be recognised that the capacity to source agency workers on a flexible basis is of considerable value to enterprises in a competitive economic environment and to the foreign direct investment sector. When setting up the National Employment Rights Authority, the Government made a highly significant additional investment in the areas of promoting compliance with employment law and in ensuring that in the event of non-compliance there are effective mechanisms for redress and, where appropriate, prosecution. I again ask Members to make available any information or knowledge they may have to those working in this field.

It must be acknowledged that in the integrated global economy which has been evolving in recent years, the availability of flexibility in production and service chains has played a lead role in enabling successful enterprises to respond quickly to consumer demand. It has become vital to respond quickly, for example, to seasonal peaks in demand. This ability to respond quickly and flexibly has also become a key feature when companies investing overseas are trying to assess which locations offer the most promising environment for direct investment. Flexible labour markets are important. If one opts for too much rigidity, it could be at the risk of undermining one's job creation capacity.

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