Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We all know that responsibility for determining employment or self-employment status rests with the Revenue Commissioners and the Scope section of the Department of Social Protection. In cases I have dealt with in my constituency over the years, it has taken a considerable amount of time for the Scope section to deal with cases referred to it. Deputy Tóibín is quite right that in cases where bogus self-employment emerges, it is a case that the Exchequer can potentially lose considerable revenues owed to it in terms of the status of that individual, whether they are employed or self-employed. There are a range of different employment protections that would be forgone by somebody in a bogus self-employment situation. It is an area that I intend to address in a comprehensive way over the next period of time. As I said, the parliamentary clock is ticking. We have introduced a range of different industrial relations reforms over the last while, particularly over the last year and a half. It is an area that requires more attention and I intend to attend to it.

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