Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is correct that the matter was discussed at the Cabinet meeting today, and it was also discussed last week at the Labour Employer Economic Forum with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Irish Business and Employers Confederation. We acknowledge that there is an issue with bogus self-employment in some sectors but it is worth pointing out that the most recent labour force survey shows that the number of people who are self-employed is going down. The idea, therefore, that there is a massive drift from regular employment to self-employment is not supported by the facts. Among the measures that were approved today is an amendment to the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 to strengthen the powers of the Department's deciding officers to determine whether someone is self-employed, protections against victimisation by people who say they are bogusly self-employed, as well as the establishment of a dedicated unit within the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection to carry out greater inspections. Unfortunately, however, we cannot support the Deputy's Bill as proposed because the Attorney General has advised us that it would give quasi-judicial powers to the Workplace Relations Commission, which would not be constitutional.

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