Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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141. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of non-compliances among fishing vessel owners related to their engagement of non-European Economic Area fishers that have been made by the Workplace Relations Commission inspectorate since that scheme’s inception in 2016; the number of individual vessel owners who are represented among those non-compliances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48214/22]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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There are currently 174 fishing vessels, registered to 126 vessel owners, on the Register of Irish Fishing vessels which come within the scope of the Atypical Worker Permission Scheme for Non-EEA Workers engaged on certain Irish-registered fishing vessels.

In the period since the launch of the Atypical Scheme, in February 2016, 95 of the 126 vessel owners have been issued with Contravention Notices; and a total 392 contraventions of employment legislation have been detected by Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) Inspectors.

These contraventions relate to the employment of non-EEA fishers without permission, hours of work/hours of rest (which matters are referred to the Department of Transport), failure to cooperate with an Inspector and/or the provision of false information or documentation, failure to pay the National Minimum Hourly rate of pay, annual leave entitlements, Public Holiday entitlements, unauthorised deductions, failure to keep records, failure to issue payslips and failure to issue contracts of employment.

The WRC objective is to work with employers, in this case vessel owners, to achieve compliance. Fishing vessel owners who do not affect compliance on a voluntary basis, following the issue of a Contravention Notice, will, depending on the legislation involved, be issued with a Compliance Notice or Fixed Payment Notice or face prosecution. Current policy provides for the initiation of prosecution proceedings in relation to the offence of employing a non-EEA national without a valid permission to work.

In December 2021, the WRC consulted with 16 relevant stakeholders who were requested to make written submissions in relation to, among other matters, possible additional outreach measures for fishing vessel owners and migrant fishers. The WRC’s February 2022 report on the outcomes of these consultations sets out a range of actions including some 23 measures and initiatives, currently being progressed.