Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

There is no question about the skill or the dedication of the inspectors but the bottom line is that there simply is not enough of them. That was demonstrated towards the start of last year when the virus was running rampant through meat factories with no inspections for well over a month, after which the point was flagged. That should have been an extreme warning bell for the Government that there was a problem but we have allocated an extra €4 million. How many inspectors will that hire? We know now that there are countless companies bending and breaking the rules. They are forcing workers to come to work in unsafe conditions or in circumstances where the workers could be working from home. For the vast majority of workplaces it is statistically the case that there has been and will be no inspections by the HSA. If the Government is not willing to fund inspections itself, will it at least allow the trade union movement the right to carry out workplace inspections as exists in other countries? Ultimately, it is only by having a strong and fighting trade union movement that we can ensure workers' rights are protected.

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