Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 131: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, further to reports that prosecutions taken against employers were up by over 50% in 2009, the number of employers who were prosecuted in this manner; the numbers of such employers; if he will give a geographical breakdown of these; if specifically he will give the figures as they apply to both Galway city and county. [22212/10]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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NERA aims to achieve voluntary compliance and has a priority of having breaches identified, rectified, and any sums of money due paid to employees. Where an employer either refuses, or fails to rectify those breaches and/or pay money due to the employees, the case is referred for prosecution. The total for this prosecution type for 2009 was 87. NERA also initiates criminal prosecutions in the District Court in the name of the Minister on behalf of a number of bodies, including the Construction Industry Monitoring Agency (CIMA), the Construction Workers Pension Scheme (CWPS). These prosecutions arise where an employer has failed to comply with a Labour Court Order directing that employer to register employees in a relevant pension scheme and /or remit contributions to the scheme. The total for these prosecution types for 2009 was 21.

While the total prosecution figure for 2008 was 70 a further 26 from 2008 were not referred for prosecution until 2009 because the system for the allocation and provision of legal services to NERA was changed in the final quarter of 2008 and there was a consequent carryover of 26 cases from 2008 into 2009. While NERA for reasons of efficiency and cost organises its main functions on a regional basis and accordingly collates statistics on that basis, prosecutions on the other hand are taken in the area where the offence occurred. For this reason a geographic breakdown on a county basis is more readily available. See table below.

NERA Prosecutions in 2009