IRELAND: Foreign workers continue to be exploited in Ireland due to the insufficient capacity of the Government's Labour inspectorate, according to the report.
It highlights the case of Gama Corporation, which in April 2005 was found to have been paying its Turkish staff working in the Republic significantly below the minimum wage.
One of the problems is chronic understaffing, says the report. It concludes that "exploitative practices persist" in the Irish labour market due to the insufficient capacities of the Government's labour inspectorate and the vulnerable situation of illegally employed foreign workers.
It also has concerns over the inquiry into the shooting dead of two people involved in the robbery of a post office in north county Dublin in May 2005. It is concerned about "the internal nature of the inquiry in the absence of an established independent mechanism for the investigation of such incidents".
It also highlights the State's failure to address adequately domestic violence and the failure to legislate on the voluntary termination of pregnancy.