Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I understand what the Minister is saying. As a first step I would like to see some progress on this matter, notwithstanding that there might be a constitutional issue. However, we can do a considerable amount within the current Constitution. When agencies are providing staff for a public body, they should provide the details of the staff they are sending in to work in that public body because the public bodies are entitled to know who is coming in to work for them. They should be supplied with a short CV and a PPS number. At least let us establish the extent of the issue.

The Minister keeps telling me that they should not be rehired except in exceptional circumstances. I believe that employment through agencies is far more widespread than simply based on exceptional circumstances. Let us at least gather the information so that we can have an informed debate. The refusal to make an attempt to quantify the extent of the issue indicates that the Minister does not want to do anything on the matter at all. We need to start by gathering the information. It might prove there is none out there but there could be tens of thousands of people and we are entitled to know that.

See this speech in context