Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

Having listened to Senator Callanan I am reminded of his near neighbour, Ms Alice Taylor, and her famous book, To School Through the Fields, because the Senator has just taken us on a trip down memory lane.

Irish Ferries has been to the fore in the public mind recently but an edition of "Prime Time" this week featured a man from one of the new EU member states who was working on a building site in the docklands area of Dublin. He was being paid €400 per week, while his Irish counterpart was being paid €600. Therefore, while Irish Ferries is the focus of attention at the moment, many people are being exploited throughout the country.

In that context, it is lamentable that there are fewer inspectors from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment dealing with this issue than there are dog wardens. When will the inspectorate be beefed up to ensure that employers are behaving responsibly towards their employees? I have asked this question on many occasions. The Taoiseach indicated recently that he hopes the inspectorate will be expanded. This must be made an urgent priority.