Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

There was a most disturbing episode last weekend when 13 Latvians were left stranded on an island off Skerries. It was disgraceful to leave them on that island, particularly in those terrible weather conditions. They had no shelter. Thankfully, they were able to contact the mainland by mobile telephone.

Recently, there has been much discussion about Irish Ferries and a race to the bottom as a result of the decision to employ east European workers on the ferries. This exposes the fact that there is exploitation of these immigrants in this country. Most of these people do not speak English. At least when the Irish emigrated in the past, they went to the United States and the UK where they had the benefit of speaking English. These immigrants do not and they are ripe for exploitation.

As I have said previously in the House, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment must strengthen its inspectorate. It is pathetic when one considers the number of immigrants that have come to this country. In 2002, there were over 8,300 inspections. In 2004, there were 5,300. That is a decrease of approximately 3,000 in the two years when there was a massive explosion in the number of immigrants.