Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will also oppose the amendment. This is a good, strong section. Small employers are no different from anybody else. They should have systems in place and when they take on employees, it should be standard from the one-man operation right up to the large multinationals. Senator Higgins adverted to the fact that some companies have large numbers of employees and many of them are designated as being employed by X or Y outside the organisation and as being temporarily hired in. We have seen this in Ryanair and Senator Nash referred to section 20, which we will come to. Many of the IT companies during the 1990s had hundreds working for them, none of whom worked directly for the company. They were all working for recruitment agencies or accountancy firms. We get down to a situation where a small employer has two or three people contracting into a multinational. At the end of the day, they have their responsibilities. We had a situation in my own office which we brought to the attention of the Minister's office. The speed at which her office operates in tracking down these people is to be commended. I believe the Minister should have the strength she is seeking in the Bill.