Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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175. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment given that serious concerns in relation to the WRC labour inspectorate's interactions with migrant workers - and, in particular, undocumented migrant workers - were raised in "protected disclosures" by a WRC labour inspector to the WRC and the Department in 2015, to Minister Frances Fitzgerald in 2017 and to Minister Simon Coveney in March 2023, and given also that similar concerns have been raised by the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, by the GRETA Report on the Implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings by Ireland, by successive US State Department Reports on Trafficking in Persons and by a UN Special Rapporteurs’ Report on trafficking in human beings in the Irish fishing industry, if he can detail how the concerns raised in these successive “protected disclosures” were addressed and, in particular, how Minister Frances Fitzgerald dealt with the July 2017 “protected disclosure” to her, detailing how evidence provided in the 2015 disclosures to the Department had not been investigated and, similarly, how the current Minister and his Department dealt with the March 2023 “protected disclosure” to him detailing how the previous “protected disclosure” to Minister Fitzgerald had not been investigated. [50021/23]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As part of its remit, the Inspectorate Division of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is authorised to carry out inspections of employer records with a view to determining compliance with the Employment Permit Acts.

Where non-compliance is detected and undocumented workers are encountered in the course of an inspection, the employer may be prosecuted for breaches of the Act and any other breaches of employment law detected. Employee details may also be referred to immigration services with a view to ensuring that the immigration status of the worker is regularised. Due to the precarious nature of their status and their vulnerability to exploitation, as a matter of policy, the WRC does not prosecute undocumented workers.

The Inspectorate of the WRC works closely with the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) and the Garda National Protective Services Unit in terms of the reporting of potential immigration and human trafficking issues encountered during inspections.

A number of information and awareness measures have been introduced by the WRC to enhance employment rights awareness and compliance in the fishing industry, including a dedicated information webpage ‘Working on Irish Fishing Vessels’, a translation facility of up to 100 languages, and the ‘Employment Law Explained’ publication available in Arabic, Filipino, Hindi, Indonesian, Mandarin, French, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian and Spanish languages.

Under Ireland’s Third National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking 2023 - 2027, a review of training on human trafficking currently provided to WRC inspectors is to be undertaken together with a requirement that training on trafficking continues to be part of the baseline training of newly recruited inspectors, with refresher training provided as appropriate. Under the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023, which legislates for the National Referral Mechanism, the WRC will be a member of the operational committee and a designated competent body for the identification of victims of human trafficking and access supports.

The specific matter relating to protected disclosures referred to in the Deputies question is the subject of ongoing legal proceedings and therefore it would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this time.