Fee-Charging Employment Agencies Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 96) - Ireland (Ratification: 1972)

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Part III of the Convention. Articles 12–14. Regulation of fee-charging employment agencies. In its 2023 reports, the Government indicates that there has been no significant change in the application of the Convention and that Ireland remains in compliance with its provisions. The Government further indicates that, under Section 10 (1) of the Employment Agency Act, 1971, as amended by Section 19 of the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act, 2003, a person guilty of an offence under the Act is liable, on summary conviction, to a “Class C” fine not exceeding €2,500, and in the case of a continuing offence, to a “Class D” fine not exceeding €1,000 per day. The Government reports that ten cases involving employment agencies were inspected in 2021 and 18 in 2022, with one contravention detected in 2021 and nine in 2022. Additionally, the Government reports that, in the period 2018–23, 32 inspections involving employment agencies were carried-out which, resulting in 18 contraventions: six related to less favourable treatment, ten involved agencies operating without a valid licence, and two regarding failure to provide records. The Government specifies that no criminal prosecutions were necessary to ensure compliance. The Government also reports that, as of June 2023, 70 officers are authorized to conduct inspections to verify compliance with employment legislation. The Government anticipates that the increased staffing resource will lead to more inspections and ensure an even coverage of oversight throughout the jurisdiction. The Government adds that staffing resource requirements are subject to regular review with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The Committee however notes that the ratio between the number of inspections and the number of detected contraventions over the period 2018-2023 appears to be substantially high. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken to remedy this situation and to indicate whether additional measures have been taken or envisaged, including establishing a more dissuasive regime of sanctions or carrying out awareness-raising campaigns.The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of inspections conducted involving employment agencies, the number of officers authorized to conduct such inspections, the types of violations detected, and the penalties imposed.

Prospects of ratification of Convention No. 181. The Committee recalls that the ILO Governing Body (at its 337th Session in October–November 2019), on the recommendation of the Tripartite Working Group of the Standards Review Mechanism, classified Convention No. 96 as an outdated instrument. The Governing Body placed the abrogation or withdrawal of Convention No. 96 on the agenda of the 119th Session of the International Labour Conference, to be held in 2030. It further called upon the States parties to Convention No. 96 to consider ratifying the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181), which would entail the immediate denunciation of Convention No. 96. The Committee encourages the Government to give effect to the decision adopted by the ILO Governing Body at its 337th Session and to consider ratifying the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181), which is the ILO’s up-to-date Convention on private employment agencies. The Committee reminds the Government that it may avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office in this regard.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Part III of the Convention. Articles 12–14. Regulation of fee-charging employment agencies. The Government indicates in its report that Ireland remains in compliance with the provisions of the Convention. The Ministry for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation supervises the activities of fee-charging employment agencies through authorized officers appointed under the Employment Agency Act, 1971. As of the end of 2014, there were 57 such officers authorized to carry out inspections to verify compliance under various sections of the employment legislation. The Government indicates that eight inspections were carried out in 2014. Six of the eight cases were found to be in breach of the legislation; five violations involved agencies operating without a valid licence; and one involved failure to provide the authorized officer with required information. In contrast, 23 inspections were conducted in 2013, which identified no violations. In relation to the regulation of temporary employment agencies, the Committee notes the amendment to the Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act 2012 (No. 13 of 2012), which expanded the definition of an employment agency to include temporary employment agencies and made it an offence for an employment agency to charge a fee to place the temporary worker to a third party. The Committee further notes the provisions governing the placement of workers, particularly workers under the age of 18, for work abroad. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the penalties imposed for violation of the Protection of Employees Act in relation to illegal fee-charging for temporary employment services, the number of inspections and types of violations detected, and any additional measures taken or envisaged to give effect to Part III of the Convention, including any measures taken or envisaged to increase and intensify inspections and strengthen the functioning of the authorized officers in relation to matters covered under the Convention.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received since October 2005. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Repetition

Part III of the Convention. Regulation of fee-charging employment agencies. The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will include information on the measures adopted by a competent authority to supervise the activities of agencies covered by the Convention. The Committee invites the Government to also include information regarding its application, summaries of inspection reports, information regarding the number and nature of contraventions reported and any other particulars bearing on the practical application of the Convention.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Part III of the Convention. Regulation of fee-charging employment agencies. The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will include information on the measures adopted by a competent authority to supervise the activities of agencies covered by the Convention. The Committee invites the Government to also include information regarding its application, summaries of inspection reports, information regarding the number and nature of contraventions reported and any other particulars bearing on the practical application of the Convention.