Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

A total of €20 million in withheld wages has been recouped through the WRC since 2011. I will take this opportunity to say that if it could do that with the limited resources it has had, imagine what it could do if the Minister of State improved resources and increased the number of inspectors to the number agreed in 2006.

We all support SEOs, EROs and REAs, but time and again there are situations where they are being undermined because some employers are refusing to comply with them. That, in effect, gives a competitive advantage to an employer who is dodging it. The employer who is paying the correct rate finds him or herself becoming less competitive because his or she is trying to do the right thing.

I welcome that the Minister of State is open to looking at the powers of the WRC. When he considers that, I ask that he consider specifically policing SEOs and EROs, because when they are not complied with, they distort the labour market. It is unfair on workers and on employers.

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