Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I understand. The figures Deputy Boyd Barrett has put on the record are startling. To his credit, this is an issue he has raised consistently. There is undoubtedly an issue here and Revenue and the Department need to have a very hard to look at it. Not only are there consequences for the Exchequer by way of taxation receipts, but there are very serious consequences for the workers themselves in terms of the absence of job security and the lack of any benefits they may need in the event of ill-health. They suffer the same deficits as other self-employed people encounter in this regard in the social protection system.

The reality must be that where all of the characteristics of employment are in place, it should be regarded as employment and not self-employment. While this has been evolving for a number of years in the construction sector, we are beginning to see it in a number of other sectors also. It is a real issue of concern that bogus self-employment is creeping its way across various sectors of the economy. It is very evident in construction, and all of the issues around this have been highlighted, but it is increasingly going to become an issue in many other sectors of the economy. There must be a very clear dividing line between what constitutes employment and what constitutes self-employment. Where all the characteristics of employment are in place, the law and all of the agencies in the State need to be very strong in insisting they are reinforced by contracts of employment and all of the rights and obligations for the employer and employee that come with these.

See this speech in context