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

I thank the Minister for his reply. What he said is fine, but it does not address the issue to which I refer. The Minister spoke about people applying for contracts, the conditions for contracts, producing tax clearance certificates and the responsibilities on contractors and the contracting authority to ensure people tender properly. We all take that as read, and everybody agrees with that, but what measures are in place to ensure they actually abide by the above? I listened to the Minister's reply but there was no mention of anybody at public level looking after the taxpayers' interests to ensure the contractors abide by the conditions they are meant to abide by.

I will give two examples. Approximately €3 billion is to be spent on capital projects this year. The biggest areas are roads and schools. I have said in the House previously that I know of schools, which I have reported, where subcontractors on-site bus people to sign on every Thursday morning and then bus them back to continue working. I said to the Secretary General of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport at the Committee of Public Accounts last Thursday that, as we speak, some of subcontractors on the largest road projects, contracted by the National Roads Authority under public private partnership, are telling people who want to work that they must be on the dole and that they will not employ them if they are not in receipt of a jobseeker's payment because they do not want to pay them the full rate. If they want a job, those people must sign on. However, they risk prosecution and they cannot make PRSI contributions so their records will be diminished as a result.

The Minister should put measures in place for on-site inspections by the Department of Social Protection, the Revenue Commissioners and the Health and Safety Authority to ensure people on these sites are officially there.

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