Written answers

Thursday, 13 May 2004

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Employment Rights

5:00 pm

Photo of Pat RabbittePat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 27: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she has satisfied herself that there are a sufficient number of inspectors to carry an adequate level of workplace inspections; if she has plans to increase the numbers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13836/04]

Photo of Frank FaheyFrank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The labour inspectorate of my Department is part of the employment rights enforcement section. At present, the inspectorate has a complement of 17 inspector posts supported by a further seven administrative posts. The employment rights enforcement section comprises three inter-linked units which, apart from the inspectorate, incorporates the employment rights information unit — ten staff members — and the legal services unit — a further five staff members.

In 2001, as part of a continuing process to strengthen and modernise employment rights enforcement, a major business process re-engineering exercise was undertaken in the employment rights enforcement section. That exercise looked across the support activities to the labour inspectorate in the area of employment rights enforcement, that is, the employment rights information unit, where enhanced customer service standards including lunch time opening were introduced; the prosecution and enforcement units, where procedures and linkages with the Chief State Solicitor's office were improved. In addition, a new fully integrated IT system to support the broad enforcement effort was launched in mid-June 2003.

I am satisfied that this level of investment together with the ongoing implementation of appropriate streamlined procedures is sufficient to provide for adequate inspection and enforcement activity so as to ensure, as far as possible, that employment rights and entitlements of workers working in Ireland are protected. There are no plans, at this stage, to increase the number of inspectors further.

It should be noted also that in many cases employment rights legislation has provisions whereby workers who believe that they have been denied their entitlements, or otherwise unfairly treated, should, and do, take the matter before a commissioner in the rights commissioner service of the Labour Relations Commission.

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