Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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160. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department has considered proposals from an organisation (details supplied) in respect of employment standards for bricklayers working and seeking work on school building sites; if his Department will implement any of the proposals; his views on reports that a number of workers were locked out of a school building project in Dublin due to their refusal to sign for unemployment benefits while working; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33683/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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My Department is not aware of the proposals to which the Deputy refers nor is it the competent authority in this matter. Employment law is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and any proposals in relation to new sectoral standards, the application of which would not be limited to school building projects, are appropriate to her Department in the first instance.

As the Deputy is aware any associated social welfare issues are a matter for my colleague the Minister for Social Protection, while tax issues are a matter for the Revenue Commissioners. Enforcement and prosecution for non-compliance with employment law falls under the remit of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

If the Deputy is aware of any breaches of social welfare rules and regulations on a school building site, she should report these to the Department of Social Protection as the competent authority in this particular aspect of the matter.