asked the Minister for Labour the number of registered employment agencies in the country at present and in 1976; the amount of revenue collected in licence fees in 1976 and the expected revenue for 1977; and the percentage increase in the licence fee in January and if it was sanctioned by the National Prices Commission.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Employment Agencies.
17.
The number of employment agencies holding licences under the Employment Agency Act, 1971, on 31st March, 1977, is 143 and the number on the corresponding date in 1976 was 109.
The amount of revenue collected in licence fees in 1976 was £600 and it is expected that the revenue in 1977 will be between £10,000 and £11,000. The licence was increased from £5 to £100 on 1st February, 1977. The proposal to increase the fee was made with the agreement of the National Prices Commission.
I decided to increase the fee because the nature of the business makes it desirable that there should be some evidence of the financial standing of the applicant agency.
Would the Minister not agree that such a drop in the number of employment agencies, such an enormous increase in licence fees to agencies whose personnel devote their time to recruitment and seeking employment for people, is no contribution to helping employment at a time like this?
As the Deputy knows, in general I want to see a strengthening of the State employment service, that is, the National Manpower Service. All I was anxious to do in the matter of increasing fees in relation to private agencies was to ensure that there would be, by this means. I thought it was a ridiculous state of affairs that a fee for a person seeking a licence in this area of business should be £5. I thought it more realistic that the figure should be £100, in order to assure the job applicant of at least some minimal financial standing in the case of existing agencies.
May I ask is it the Minister's intention to endeavour to put employment agencies, as such, out of business, having it a function completely taken over by a State agency? That would certainly seem to be the tenor of his reply.
No. The Deputy will see that there is no contradiction between the private and general State objective under all Governments of seeing that the National Manpower Service is given requisite strength for its functions under various legislation. It is, after all, a free service for the benefit of all citizens. As I understand it, we are, on all sides of the House, anxious to see that job vacancies in the employment market be opened up to all, irrespective of personal or private connections. That objective remains. That is not in conflict with the desire on our part to see that existing private agencies should prosper to the greatest possible extent. But we should see to it—and it is in the interest of the better agencies to see to this—that fly-by-night concerns which up to now for the mere investment of a £5 licence fee could have set up business, are ruled out. Most people who work in the private employment agency field would accept that a £100 licence fee is not excessive in these times.
In view of the fact that clerical staff, and female clerical staff especially, depend for the most part on the effectiveness of a private employment agency as against the National Manpower Service, would the Minister not review the massive increase of approximately 2,000 per cent in the licence fee?
I accept that it seems a lot to go from £5 to £100. All I can say is that I consider this change long overdue. It was a ridiculous situation that anyone could get, for something like the price of a dog licence, permission from the State authorities to open up a job agency business. I thought that was risky to the job applicant and that it did not assure him of the standing of the agencies concerned. I think the increase is in the interests of the people who run reputable employment agencies and in the interests of the person who, as the Deputy says, still goes to the private employment agency, the clerical worker and so on, though it must be added that the National Manpower Service caters for that job applicant as well.