Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

I support the amendment. What we are discussing here is the fairly extensive, in some ways, practice on the part of some unscrupulous employers to deliberately breach employment law while hiding behind a company set-up. That is just not on. Given that we are deliberating on legislation designed to improve workplace relations, we must deal with this issue. I accept that some matters are open to interpretation. In that context, I refer to the earlier amendment tabled by the Minister of State in respect of holidays when someone is on sick leave. Many companies have different practices in this regard because the legal position has not been clarified.

Amendment No. 14 seeks to deal with those cases which involve clear-cut breaches of employment rights by unscrupulous employers. On a previous occasion I brought to the attention of the Minister of State a case involving a breach of the National Minimum Wage Act by Hertz, a reputable multinational company. He correctly pointed out at the time that it is a criminal offence for someone to breach that Act. The difficulty is that an entire company cannot end up in prison. It can, however, take a hit. The National Employment Rights Authority, NERA, reached a decision regarding such matters to the effect that it is not its practice to take action in respect of a first offence. I do not believe that such an approach could be taken in respect of other crimes. For example, I do not see how someone could be let off for murder because it was his or her first offence. We must get tough and hold people individually responsible when they flagrantly breach the law, as it is set down in black and white. Many examples of such breaches have been aired in this Chamber. The position will not change unless people are held personally to account.

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