Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I assume the Deputy is referring to breaches of employment law or of employment-related legislation. I reiterate, as indicated during the recent Private Members' motion of last week on agency workers, that this Government is deeply committed to decent standards of employment. Significant and substantial measures to underpin our employment standards apply to all workers, including migrant workers.

A large body of employment rights legislation, covering areas as diverse as the application of the national minimum wage, terms of employment, organisation of working time, payment of wages, protection of fixed-term and part-time workers, maternity leave, etc., is now in place. The transposition into Irish law of the EU posting of workers directive, by virtue of enactment of section 20 of the Part-Time Work Act 2001, provides that employee protection applies to migrant workers in Ireland who have entered into a contract of employment that provides for those employed in the State or who work in the State under a contract of employment. This means that irrespective of nationality or place of residence, migrant workers have the same rights under employment rights legislation as Irish employees.

Our legislative framework is backed up with effective and strong new supports where all workers, including migrant workers, can vindicate their rights through the dispute resolution machinery of the State. Under the Towards 2016 partnership agreement, the Government has committed to, and delivered on, key additions to enforcement capacity including a major upgrading of resources with the establishment of the National Employment Rights Authority, NERA, and substantial investment in additional resources in the labour inspectorate. NERA is participating in an active information awareness campaign on employment rights and specifically in the case of migrant workers is publishing material to promote employment rights in up to 11 languages. Additionally, ten of the 90 officers that form the labour inspectorate will have specialist foreign language skills.

Combating exploitation or abuse of employment rights is not just a matter for Government and its agencies, it demands the engagement of wider civil society. When setting up NERA the Government, through the Oireachtas, made a very 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 would urge anyone who has specific complaints to contact NERA immediately to enable these to be investigated. Alternatively, and where appropriate, employees should refer their complaints directly to the dispute resolution agencies for redress.

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