Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

My comments are on the same theme. The idea of imposing a fine on an employer of €2,000 for paying below the minimum wage is almost an enticement for him to try it. He need only get away with it for ten weeks and then it is already paid off and every week that he gets away with it after that is a bonus.

I assure the Minister that having worked not only in the construction industry but the restaurant industry as well I know that there are employers who pay below the minimum wage and it is rather difficult to compete with them. Certainly, the State is keen to create a fair playing field but if the Government wants to do that it should make it unattractive for people to cheat.

In recent months workers have come to me and told me they have been getting paid less than the minimum wage to put in water meters. These were subcontractors. We have a major problem in this area. The general contractor employs the subcontractor and only deals directly with the subcontractor. We have a weakness in this area because we do not oblige the contractor to oversee what the subcontractor does. This should be examined, especially in cases of work given out by the State. A subcontractor who misbehaves should not get work from a contractor who is getting work from the State.

Likewise, we have taken on people in the wine bars. I assure the Minister that some of those who have come to us were not getting the proper rate. Naturally, they were paying no tax. They were simply getting paid €5 or €6 into their hand. We asked them for their P60 forms but they did not have them. I asked how long they had been working in the country and where they had worked last. They said they had worked in such and such a place but had not been registered.

We are trying to sell at a competitive rate against such businesses and sometimes we are close to them. We are dealing with the same customers. I assure the Minister that we do not act in this way, but we are being asked to compete with them and that is not fair. There should be far tighter regulation to ensure that this does not happen, regardless of the sector. I know that this is happening. We are not looking for a nanny State and I realise it is not easy for the State to have its finger in all these areas, but we have the potential to tighten things up a little. We could impose a far larger fine. That is only one aspect of it.

Some employers pay less than the minimum wage. That is different from employing people who are not registered at all. In that area alone a fine of €2,000 is not going to stop them. They only have to get away with it for ten weeks and then everything is a bonus after that. If they are caught, they may decide to pay the €2,000 fine but they will have made money on it and they will have got away with it.

It would be better if the State took a far stronger position. The British have introduced a £20,000 fine for the same thing. Let us consider all the legislation introduced in the past 15 years in Ireland. We are inclined to do what the British do in many cases. We should do what they have done in this case as well.

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