---

Not enough employment inspectors, says report

A report has raised concerns about the low number of employment inspectors, saying that it raises questions about the effectiveness of enforcement efforts.

The research was carried out by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and the European Migration Network Ireland.

The organisations say that, while reliable data on the extent of irregular employment of non-EU nationals in Ireland is limited, their research shows that it occurs across a range of sectors in Ireland, particularly in food-service activity, and mainly within small enterprises.

It finds that the food-service sector accounted for 54% of breaches of employment-permit law in 2023, with 12% in hair and beauty, and 11% in wholesale.

Inspection rate

Employment inspections are led by Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), in co-operation with other authorities – including Revenue, the Department of Social Protection and An Garda Síochána.

Last year, according to the report, there were 4,727 employment-inspection cases, while 293 breaches of employment-permit legislation were detected.

In January of this year, 63 WRC inspectors were operating nationally.

As Revenue data indicate that there were 191,600 employers in the State in 2023, the report finds that this led to an overall inspection rate of 2.5%.

“The number of WRC inspectors is planned to increase to 80 during 2024. This is particularly important, in light of the steep increase in employment permits issued in recent years, and the planned introduction of a new seasonal employment permit,” the ESRI says.

Fear

The report says that irregular employment presents problems for the State in terms of tax revenue and regulation, whether it is undertaken by Irish or non-Irish nationals.

“Undocumented workers may be reluctant to report poor working conditions due to a fear of losing their job or being deported,” it states, adding that non-EU nationals working irregularly have “limited access” to legal remedies.

The report points out that the new Employment Permits Act 2024 seeks to bring further clarity to situations where the contract of employment is unenforceable due to the lack of an employment permit.

“This means that some contractual protections are now enforceable, but the provisions are yet to be tested,” it adds.

The 2024 act also includes measures allowing workers on general or critical-skills employment permits to change employers without needing to apply for a new permit.