Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for raising this matter and want to outline to the House the measures I have put in place to ensure that contractors working on contracts awarded under the Department's school building programme, including Kishoge community school, Lucan, are compliant with tax and employment laws. I acknowledge the presence of the workers in the Visitors Gallery. I will meet building workers' unions soon. A date has been arranged for such a meeting.

As the Deputies are aware, in common with the rest of the public sector, all Department of Education and Skills capital works projects are tendered and awarded under the standard public works contracts as required by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Government contracts committee for construction, GCCC. The guidelines require a competitive process to be carried out in an open, objective and transparent manner to achieve best value for money in public procurement. Essential principles to be observed in conducting all procurement functions include non-discrimination, equal treatment, transparency, mutual recognition, proportionality, freedom to provide service and freedom of establishment. Any contractor wishing to tender for any building projects funded by my Department must sign a personal situation declaration under oath confirming they are in compliance with regulation 53 of SI 329 of 2006 which requires the contractor, among other things, to confirm that it has not been convicted for failing to fulfil an obligation to pay a social security contribution or to pay a tax or levy as required under a law of the country or territory.

A building contract is a complex arrangement of contractual relationships between the client, the main contractor, specialist subcontractors, domestic subcontractors, suppliers of materials, suppliers of plant etc. In general all subcontractors employed on education sector building projects are employed directly by the main contractor or indirectly by the main contractor through other subcontractors. It is a matter for all subcontractors to agree terms and conditions and a schedule of payments with the main contractor as their direct employer. I am keen to ensure building contractors operating legitimately are protected while those who seek to avoid their obligations under the terms of the public works contracts will be reported to the statutory agencies and penalised, where appropriate.

The Department appointed Contractors Administration Services, CAS, in April 2013 to conduct random audits on school building projects to verify compliance with the relevant pay and conditions clauses in the public works contracts. In tandem with the appointment of CAS, the Department also provided an online complaint system on its website to enable individuals to bring to the Department's attention cases where they are of the opinion that issues of non-compliance are taking place.

CAS continues to conduct audits on school and college building projects and has been appointed to carry out a full monitoring service for the duration of the contract on Kishoge community college, Lucan. Any allegations of non-compliance brought to the attention of my Department on any school building site will be audited by CAS. Any irregularities uncovered in terms of non-compliance with employment law, enforcement and prosecution fall under the remit of the National Employment Rights Authority and the Department will report any discrepancies found to it. If an audit uncovers any other matters of concern regarding tax compliance or social welfare fraud, such matters will be referred to either the Revenue Commissioners and-or the Department of Social Protection, as appropriate.

In respect of the ongoing dispute on the Kishoge community college site, Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board is the client-employer under the contract. While my Department is the funding authority for the project, it is not a party to the contract and, as such, my Department has had no direct dealings with the contractor regarding this particular project. However, I encourage all parties involved in the dispute to use the appropriate industrial relations channels to resolve this matter.

As the Deputies may also be aware, the Government has recently approved the preparation of legislation to provide for a revised legislative framework to replace the registered employment agreement system, and I have recently met the Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Gerald Nash, to discuss the progress on this new legislation. I also intend meeting unions representing construction workers shortly to discuss their views on the proposed new legislation. The new mechanism will allow unions and employers to apply to the Labour Court to initiate a review of pay, pensions and sick pay terms of workers in a particular sector and make recommendations to the Minister for the making of an order in these areas. The new mechanism will also provide for flexibility in response to changing economic circumstances or changes in the make-up of a sector. The new legislation is intended to provide certainty for employees as well as for businesses tendering for contracts. It will also help promote industrial peace in the crucial construction sector, and establish universal standards which will help prevent Irish firms being undercut in tendering for contracts.

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