Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 40: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his attention has been drawn to the growing number of construction companies refusing to employ direct workers and the increased use of agency workers in this sector. [8255/08]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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My Department does not have specific data relating to the changing work status of persons in the construction sector to which the Deputy refers. Accordingly, I am not in a position to comment on claims to the effect that there is an increase in agency working in construction at the expense of full-time employment.

However, my Department is always interested in monitoring changing work practices and patterns together with any problems or imbalances to which these might give rise. With this in mind my Department has recently participated, in developing a set of questions with the Central Statistics Office, for use in their Quarterly National Household Survey from which we can construct a fuller profile of the agency sector and this may provide a better basis for assessing work patterns and changing work status. I understand that data from the survey may be available before mid-year.