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

The Deputy is making extraordinary allegations. He is saying structures have been put in place that are leading to the breaking of the law in relation to the claiming of state aid and the use of taxpayers' money. If he or the people who are raising this matter with him have evidence, they should report it to the Revenue Commissioners or the Health and Safety Authority or raise it directly with the relevant body.

We oversee the implementation of the section 481. We published a thorough overview of the operation of the scheme earlier in the year, in September. If the Deputy believes the law is being broken in that regard, he has a duty to present the evidence in a specific way to the agencies involved in overseeing the law as opposed to making broad allegations in the House about a sector that is, I believe, from the evidence and reports I have, making progress in dealing with issues about workers' rights, living standards and good pay.

The Deputy claimed you cannot negotiate away rights. I am not asking that anyone does this. What I am saying is collective agreements and engagement through the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, is the way these matters can be tackled. A classic example of this is the issue referred to by the Deputy about intellectual property. If the Deputy believes the balance is right, regarding the gains from intellectual property, between the producer and those working on individual productions, the way in which progress can be made on those matters, including engagement and negotiations, is with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and, more likely, the Workplace Relations Commission on the contracts in place to oversee the allocation of profit.

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