Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 49: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the practical measures his Department has taken to prevent or discourage the emerging trend whereby a number of well known hotels in Dublin have closed only to reopen at a later date employing the new staff on substantially reduced wage packets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4756/08]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 55: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his attention has been drawn to the closure of a number of major hotels with the redundancy of significant number of workers and their reopening with the employment of workers at lower rates of pay and poorer conditions; his views on this pattern in view of the need to preserve adequate wages and decent working conditions; if he will take action on this development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8333/08]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 49 and 55 together.

The pay and conditions of employment of workers in the hotel industry are governed by the full range of employment rights legislation, including the National Minimum Wage and Employment Regulation Orders in respect of hotels outside of Dublin, Cork and Dun Laoghaire. Labour Inspectors in the National Employment Regulation Authority (NERA) have powers to enter premises, inspect wage sheets and other records, interview the employees and workers concerned, recover arrears and, if necessary, take legal proceedings against an employer who is in breach of the National Minimum Wage or the Employment Regulation Order. If either of the Deputies has any information to the effect that workers in a particular hotel are not in receipt of their legal entitlements he/she should make this information available to NERA. Hotels are commercial entities, and like all such entities are in business to make a profit.