Seanad debates

Wednesday, 27 March 2019

Protection of Employment (Measures to Counter False Self-Employment) Bill 2018: Committee Stage

 

10:30 am

Photo of Gerard CraughwellGerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

In keeping with what has been said by my two colleagues, bogus self-employment was one of the greatest problems of all during the boom years in this country. When the country hit skid row, the people who suffered the most were those who survived on welfare and who depended on it to bring them forward. I will not focus on any category in particular but will just say that we were all approached by people on welfare who told the most horrendous stories of struggling to survive. These employers are thieves. This is not a matter of employers misdescribing employers; these people are thieves. Let us call them what they are. These are people who are stealing from society by not paying their fair share. While I understand what the Minister is saying about this being a finance issue, I am totally, 100% behind Senator Nash, who has great experience in this area and who is trying to cover this type of thing in the Bill he has brought forward. We need a clear understanding of what exactly is going to happen to these thieves. That is what they are. They are highway gangmen and robbers who are denying this State the money it needs to pay the welfare which is needed badly by some. Nobody is on welfare because they want to be. These guys have been enjoying life in the south of Spain. I have seen them down there myself. They are enjoying life on the money they stole from this country. We need something to tackle this problem.

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