The Food service activity sector in Ireland accounted for 54 per cent of employment permit law breaches pertaining to irregular employment of non-EU nationals in 2023, according to a new research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
The breaches took place across a range of sectors, with hair and beauty and wholesale accounting for 12 and 11 per cent, respectively, it noted.
“For non-EU nationals, working in an irregular situation can create precocity, for example, difficulties accessing social security,” the report said, adding that undocumented workers may be reluctant to report poor working conditions due to a fear of losing their job or being deported.
Shedding light on the effectiveness of enforcement efforts, the ESRI research pointed out that only 63 Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) inspectors operated in January 2024 to keep a tab on 191,600 employers in the country, giving a low inspection rate of 2.5 per cent.
In 2023, a total of 293 breaches of employment permit legislation were detected out of 4,727 inspection cases.
Employment inspections are led by WRC, in cooperation with other authorities including Revenue, Department of Social Protection and An Garda Síochána, to check compliance with employment law.
“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,” it added.