Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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3. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will report on measures he has taken in monitoring compliance with workplace legislation in the fishing industry, with particular reference to migrant labour; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41851/15]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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I am sure the Minister is aware of the cases of gross exploitation and slave-like conditions of undocumented migrant workers in the fishing industry in Ireland, exposed by The Guardian. The Minister was asked about this issue almost two and half years ago by Deputy Joe Higgins. He referred to it as a contention and the International Transport Federation has done much work on it. What action will the Government take to end the gross exploitation that is taking place to ensure these workers are afforded the full protection of the law?

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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Concerns about exploitation of vulnerable migrant workers in this sector are global in nature. In order to address the complex array of issues facing the State in monitoring compliance with workplace legislation in the fishing industry, the Government established a task force a few weeks ago on allegations regarding the treatment of workers on Irish fishing trawlers. Arising out of the conclusion of the task force’s work last week, we now have a scheme in Ireland to assist such workers.

I welcome the agreement reached by members of the task force, which saw all Government and State agencies involved in the sector coming together to come up with a solution. This cross-departmental approach makes the scheme robust and fair, as well as helping to reduce the potential for migrant workers in this sector to be abused by unscrupulous employers. That is the aim of the scheme. The agreement provides that non-EEA nationals will enter into a new employment relationship with an employer in the State, as opposed to being share fishermen, which has been the predominant model in the sector. As such, they will be guaranteed all appropriate employment rights and protections during their period of employment and the WRC will have a remit in respect of compliance with employment rights legislation and enforcing these workers’ rights. Inspections regarding enforcement of legislation relating to the rest periods and maximum working time of seafarers and fishing vessel crews will continue to be undertaken by marine surveyors of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.

Complementary to the new scheme, the powers of the inspection service of the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, have been broadened under the recently enacted Workplace Relations Act to empower WRC inspectors to board vessels to enforce the full suite of employment rights legislation for non-EEA workers who will be employees under this scheme.

It is the Government's stated intention to see a memorandum of understanding put in place by the relevant State enforcement bodies to provide for a rigorous and effective cross-agency inspection scheme. I am chairing a sub-group of the relevant enforcement agencies in order to ensure that this memorandum is in place before the commencement of the scheme. The sub-group will hold its first meeting shortly. Strong enforcement and inspection is absolutely essential to the success of this new regime.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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Why did the Government do nothing about this matter two and a half years ago when it was first raised in the Dáil? At that time, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, referred to the allegations as "a contention" and added that the former Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, had pointed out that "because a person may elect not to abide by the rules does not imply that the onus is on the State to regularise - far from it". Both Ministers adopted an extremely callous attitude to what we now know was gross exploitation. That exploitation included the withholding of pay and the holding of workers' passports-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Sorry, this is Question Time. The Deputy should ask questions.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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-----by owners. The question is clear. Why did the Government not do anything about this two and a half years ago? Why did it sit on it when workers were denied freedom of movement, subjected to sleep deprivation, exposed to dangerous work practices and so forth?

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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The point is that the Government is acting now. In a very short period we have brought the relevant Departments and agencies together to address this egregious issue. We now have a system in place in which everyone can have confidence. I compliment the members of the task force from a range of Departments who were involved in this for their efficacy and for the delivery of this outcome in such a short timeframe. As I said, I will be chairing a sub-group of the relevant enforcement agencies because inspection and enforcement is absolutely critical to the success of the scheme.

We must put the position of the non-EEA workers at the very centre of our concerns and we have done that. We have now, for the first time, established that all non-EEA workers who are operating on a permit under the new system will enjoy all of the protections of an employee. Their terms and conditions will come under the remit of the relevant inspection agencies in my Department.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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The Government should be ashamed of the fact that it did not do something about this sooner. In terms of the task force, why was the International Transport Workers Federation, ITF, not involved, given that it has been doing work on this issue for years? Mr. Ken Fleming, in particular, has been trying to expose these practices for a long time. The Departments involved in the task force are, unfortunately, the same ones that played a role in the system that has obtained up until now. Does the Minister of State agree that the workers in question should be afforded an amnesty equivalent to that offered to workers who have been trafficked here for the sex trade?

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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We are providing an opportunity to a considerable number of non-EEA workers who are engaged in this system to be considered employees. The new permit scheme will be very robust. The State will hold a central depository of relevant permits that are in play at any given moment. The Deputy will be aware that the number of permits in the scheme has been set at 500. For the first few months of the operation of the new scheme, we want to work towards a system whereby those who are here already have the opportunity to regularise their situation.

We have been working with the ITF and with the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, MRCI. I insisted that both organisations would be consulted and engaged with in the context of the development of the new scheme. I respect and acknowledge the work that the ITF has been doing - and Mr. Ken Fleming in particular - on this issue for a considerable number of years. The State has responded in a very effective way to this very egregious situation to protect the interests of extremely vulnerable workers who have been exploited. We will have the full range of employment protections in place under this scheme to protect people at work. They will be paid at the bare minimum, that is, at the national minimum wage rate. We will establish for them an employee employer relationship. I hope that Deputy Murphy will recognise that this is significant progress in the context of where we have come from.