Further evidence of Fianna Fáil’s soft stance on corporate crime has been exposed after Tánaiste Mary Coughlan admitted that a request for additional staff at the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) was refused, according to Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD.

“The joint ODCE/Fraud Squad raid on Anglo Irish this week only highlighted the Government’s own failure to take earlier action on white collar crime. Fianna Fáil Ministers have repeatedly refused requests from the ODCE for extra staff and more resources in its fight against white-collar crime.

“The ODCE requested additional staff on numerous occasions from 2005 to 2007, including Gardaí, to tackle white collar crime. The office sought these staff at the height of the gross abuse of financial markets and wrongdoing in the banks which has since come to light.

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Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD has opposed Labour Minister Billy Kelleher’s suggestion that the Government may consider cutting the minimum wage.

Deputy Varadkar has called for the minimum wage to be maintained at current levels throughout 2009 and 2010 to give employers certainty about wage costs. He also called for a full review of Employment Regulation Orders (EROs) which set higher minimum rates in certain sectors.

“The minimum wage is an essential component of employment law to protect the rights of workers. However, Fine Gael believes the wage should now be maintained at its current level for two years in order to secure jobs.

“However, minimum rates being imposed on some of the most vulnerable sectors of the economy must urgently be addressed by the Government. As things stand, there are serious anomalies in the catering, hotel, retail and security industries. Employment Regulation Orders have imposed a series of pay increases over the next year and a half in these sectors which are now unaffordable.

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Minister Ryan now hiding behind legal obstacles to pay restraint in banking sector

The Government appears to be bottling it on slashing top bankers’ pay following Eamon Ryan’s attempt to hide behind legalities on whether or not the Government will be driving reductions in senior bankers’ pay, Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD has said.

Fine Gael has stated that reductions in pay for senior executives should be part of the conditions of any recapitalisation plan.

“The Government has belatedly started talking tough about pay restraint in the banking sector and has secured many headlines as a result. But now it appears the Government is bottling it when it comes to forcing pay cuts for senior bankers when Eamon Ryan in media interviews started using legal arguments as a basis for not being able to force pay reductions.

“Fine Gael believes that pay freezes across the banking sector and pay reductions for senior executives need to be a condition of any recapitalisation plan. Today, within the space of an hour, there were two Green Ministers sending conflicting messages for senior banking executives. …[more]

Kieran Dennison, one of the two Fine Gael candidates running in the Mulhuddart Ward later this year has launched his own website at kierandennison.com.

Fine Gael Spokesperson for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, has today (Saturday) called on the Government to force the banks to implement a pay freeze for staff and to ban all bonuses for executives as a condition of the recapitalisation plan.

“The decision of Bank of Ireland and the ESB to increase pay by 3.5 per cent is an affront to hundred of thousands of public and private employees who are taking a pay cut in 2009. It is also an insult to taxpayers who will have to stump up for the recapitalisation of the banks.

“Today, the Taoiseach tried to wash his hands of these pay increases by claiming that it was a result of an agreement between the unions and employers. This is not true. These pay increases are a result of the National Wage Agreement made by the Government, employers and unions. Fine Gael called for the deal to be suspended last November. Now that it has been called off for the public sector it should be called off for everyone.”

Jobs will be lost and employers will be criminalised if a new law being debated in the Dáil today (Thursday) is enacted, Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD has warned.
 
Deputy Varadkar was speaking before the debate on the second stage of the Employment Law Compliance Bill this afternoon.
 
“At a time of rising unemployment, we must oppose any measure that makes it more difficult to get a job and keep a job. If enacted, this Bill will make it much hard to create jobs and it will impact hardest on the small and medium enterprises which do not have HR and legal departments to make them up.
 
“Employers will be subject to on-the-spot fines for failing to display notices and they will even have to display them in several different languages. It also gives the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) the power to raid and secure business and to take away records and documents without even the suspicion of wrongdoing.
 
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FG calls for small business loan guarantee to protect jobs

With Ireland reeling from the biggest ever monthly increase of 36,500 in the live register, and unemployment now at 9.2%, Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar TD has warned that more than 12% of the workforce will be unemployed by the end of the year.

With 327,900 people now on the dole, the Live Register will reach 450,000 or 12% by the end of the year. There have never been so many people on the dole.

“The scale of job losses now underway is truly shocking. To put it simply: Ireland is not working. Viable businesses which need capital to get them through the recession are going to the wall. The banks are refusing to extend credit to businesses. In many cases they are withdrawing overdraft facilities. …[more]

I’ll be on RTE’s Questions and Answers tonight, which is kicking off on RTÉ One at 22.35.

Edit to add: The archived version of the show is now up on their website.