Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am conscious of the fact that, while employers can be good ones that treat people well, they can also find themselves in breach of employment law at times because they have treated a particular employee wrongly, made mistakes or seen their company culture change. My experience of these matters and my view on them is that someone can be a good employer but still find himself or herself committing an offence under employment law, for which the employer should be subject to sanctions.

The Deputy's first question requires a clear answer. My direct answer is that, as Minister for Finance, if the Exchequer is making a credit available on the basis of quality employment and training and an employer who avails of it is frequently or in a sustained fashion in breach of employment law, it would cause me a question regarding the availability of that credit to the employer. I included the caveat because, in complex workplaces, particularly where there are many employees, there can be good employers who, by and large, make the right and good decisions but still find themselves in breach of employment law. At that point, they should be subject to sanction.

With that context given, if an employer or project was found to be committing offences that an employment agency judged to be happening frequently or becoming an acceptable or normal part of the workplace, it would cause me a question regarding whether it should be availing of the credit in the way the credit is currently designed.

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