Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 May 2010
77 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation further to Parliamentary Question No. 101 of 12 May 2010, if he will provide figures for inspection rate and levels of non-compliance with the Hotels Employment Regulation Order on a county basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20996/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraNERA, for reasons of efficiency and cost, organises its main functions on a regional basis as opposed to a county basis. These five regions are Carlow (HQ), Dublin, Sligo, Shannon, and Cork. Statistics are, accordingly, not readily identifiable in county terms. The Table below shows the regional breakdown and the counties that constitute each regional division. Hotels in the traditional County Borough of Dublin and the Borough of Dún Laoghaire and the County Borough of Cork are not subject to a Hotels Employment Regulations Order but are subject to the terms of the National Minimum Wage Act.
|
NERA Regional Office |
Counties Included |
Number of Hotels Inspected under ERO |
Number of Hotels in Breach |
|
Carlow |
Carlow, Kilkenny, Kildare, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow |
50 |
43 (86%) |
|
Cork. |
Cork1 , Kerry, Tipperary South, Waterford |
19 |
11 (58%) |
|
Dublin |
Cavan, Dublin2 , Louth, Meath, Monaghan |
18 |
12 (67%) |
|
Shannon |
Clare, Galway, Limerick, Tipperary North |
22 |
14 (64%) |
|
Sligo |
Donegal, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo. |
22 |
16 (73%) |
|
Total |
131 |
96 (73%) |
1The County Borough of Cork is part of the region but not subject to the ERO.
2The traditional County Borough area of Dublin and the Borough of Dun Laoghaire are part of the region but not subject to the ERO.
With regard to breaches, I should point out that in general many of the breaches detected by NERA are minor in nature. In this context, I have requested that NERA commit to providing further information with regard to the precise nature of these offences. This will also be reported on more fully in Annual Reports from 2011 onwards. Both NERA and the employer representative groups in the hospitality sector have invested considerable time in recent months in organising information meetings around the country and in opening and maintaining regular lines of communication between each other to address this issue in a partnership style approach.
