Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This section is concerned with the penalties that can be issued by way of a fixed payment notice. It is like a traffic cop giving out a fine. An employer who commits the offence of breaching the national minimum wage would be prosecuted in the normal way. One cannot hand out a fixed payment notice of €20,000 in this relatively informal manner because, as I noted earlier, that would invest the inspectorate with such significant jurisdiction that it would be deemed to be engaged in the administration of justice contrary to the Constitution. It would be inappropriate to impose such a scale of penalty under a fixed notice. This section does not deal with the wider issue of breaches of minimum wage. Breaches are dealt with in the minimum wage legislation and is enforced through criminal prosecutions. Deputy Norris is trying to shoehorn powers for inspectors to dish out substantial penalties into the fixed payment notice. My legal advice is that such a provision would be inappropriate. There are better lawyers than me around here who can argue that case.

In regard to Senator Quinn's amendment, each of these matters is an omission for which an employer could be prosecuted in the courts.The fixed payment notice provides an informal way to address an offence of the three types I outlined where the conclusion has been reached that such a notice would be a reasonable approach to adopt for whatever reasons. They will not proceed to a full blown prosecution. Provision is made for a fine of up to €2,000 and discretion can be used in this regard. A sum of €2,000 is the maximum fine. This is an admission for which an employer could be prosecuted. That approach has to be upheld by applying the same maximum generally. The deterrent must be in place and its application is a matter of judgment.