Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

We do not know what nine out of ten of those cases are about because we were not provided with information on the appeals. Information on the number of cases appealed and their outcomes has not been provided to us yet and that is a concern. The Minister talked about the individual taking the case. There is a huge onus then on the individual to go through the High Court in some cases or the Labour Court. I can tell the Minister about cases where there are concerns about that. Prosecution is an issue where there are patterns of abuse and it is simply not a matter of one employee. Usually, this happens as part of a pattern and it is costing money. It is a significant cost not simply for the individual but for the Department in respect of the unpaid PRSI payments which should have been provided to support our social protection budget. That is why there is an onus to seek a higher level of prosecutions of employers in respect of which there is a systematic problem. There is an onus under fiscal responsibility for the Department to take much more serious action. It should be borne in mind that there is no time limit on the recouping of unpaid PRSI payments. If we discover a case involving two or three employees over a period of ten years, we should automatically ask whether there are 100 other such employees. It may be that money from ten or 20 years ago can be recouped by the State. Where that money is owed to the State, it is not simply about a better situation going forward. There are huge financial implications of this issue. While we will get to unpack them in the committee as we go forward, I urge a movement away from simply thinking about this in terms of single cases and individual High Court proceedings. We should look at our very serious responsibility to prevent the hollowing out of our social protection system. These practices threaten to do that.