Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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Question 46: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation his plans to strengthen the protections available for domestic workers against abusive employers; his plans to criminalise forced labour; if he plans to opt into Directive 2009/52/EC which provides protection for undocumented third party nationals against exploitative employers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5881/11]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that Ireland's body of employment rights legislation protects all workers employed in Ireland in a contractual employer-employee relationship. This includes entitlement to applicable wages and conditions as well as the right to legal redress for possible infringements of employment law. Specifically, Section 20 of the Protection of Employees (Part-Time) Work Act, 2001 provides that all employee protection legislation applies to a person, irrespective of nationality or place of residence, who has entered into a contract of employment that allows them to be employed in the State.

For domestic workers, a voluntary Code of Practice for Persons Employed in Other People's Homes was developed under the Industrial Relations Act 1990. The Code seeks to set out certain employment rights and practices for persons employed in other people's homes and encourages good practice and compliance with the law in such employment situations. The Code has been cited by the international community, in the context of the current development of international labour instruments such as in the case of the preparation of an International Labour Office Convention and accompanying Recommendation on Decent Work for Domestic Workers, as an example of good practice in this area.

In terms of compliance with employment rights in the domestic work sector, Ireland is to the fore in that currently, the National Employment Rights Authority is undertaking a pilot programme to assess the level of compliance in the domestic work sector. This is being conducted in full consultation and with the positive co-operation of non-governmental organisations.

As regards the issue of forced labour, unlike employment law that is based on a contractual and consensual employer/employee relationship, forced labour is in the category of indentured labour, trafficking and slavery. These are offences that violate basic human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. At national level, such protections fall to be dealt with by my colleague the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence in the context, inter alia, of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008.

As regards Directive 2009/52, this falls also within the realm of the Justice and Home Affairs pillar of Community law. I am not in a position to respond to the Deputy in relation to these aspects of the question and I would suggest he put down a separate question to the Minister for Justice and Law Reform on the subject.