Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 16: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department has carried out an assessment to determine the optimum number of labour inspectors which are necessary to inspect compliance with labour law for the current workforce; and if a projection of future need has been carried out. [11235/06]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Question 38: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on whether the number of 31 labour inspectors is sufficient to monitor and deter labour abuses; and if he intends to increase this figure in the future. [11377/06]

Breeda Moynihan-Cronin (Kerry South, Labour)
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Question 73: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the total labour force at the latest date for which figures are available; the number of labour inspectors in his Department; the number of workers per labour inspector; his views on whether this number is sufficient to uphold and protect working conditions and standards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11273/06]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 16, 38 and 73 together.

The latest statistics compiled by the Central Statistics Office indicate that the total labour force is 2.07 million. The assignment of previously announced additional labour inspectors was completed in November 2005. That brought the complement of serving inspectors to 31 officers. The increase in staffing represents almost a doubling of the number of labour inspectors in the last 18 months.

The ratio of the number of labour inspectors to the labour force is one for every 67,000 in 2005. This shows a marked improvement in the ratio of labour inspectors over the past ten years, from one inspector for every 150,000 people in the labour force in 1996 to one for every 67,000 in 2005, and this against an increase of over 500,000 in the labour force in the same period.

It should be noted that there is a wide range of employment rights bodies and services. These include the Employment Appeals Tribunal, the redundancy and insolvency sections of this Department, the rights commissioner services provided by the Labour Relations Commission and the services provided by the Labour Court. The labour inspectorate is a unit within the employment rights compliance section, which also includes the employment rights information unit and a further separate unit that administers the referral of cases for prosecution and legal enforcement of orders. Between them, these various services have a complement of staff in excess of 150 people.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment circulated a discussion document, "Mandate and Resourcing of the Labour Inspectorate", to the social partners in early 2005. That document was the basis for further consideration by the employment rights compliance group, ERCG. The group, which is made up of representatives of the social partners, including the CIF and SIPTU, together with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Finance, has completed its report. The report will inform the current national partnership discussions.

Some of the key proposals in the report are: a streamlining of access to redress through the existing employment rights bodies thus enabling individuals with the information and facility to more easily vindicate their employment rights and entitlements; greater emphasis on proper record keeping together with increased transparency regarding pay and the associated information provided to employees on payslips; organisational improvements in the service provided by the employment rights compliance section of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, including the labour inspectorate and a regionalised structure; major investment in education and information dissemination on employment rights obligations and entitlements for both employers and employees.

It is anticipated that the new round of social partnership talks will embrace consideration of the resourcing of the labour inspectorate and options to enhance the effectiveness of our employment rights compliance regime.