The programme for Government promises a €42 billion capital investment programme. This includes investment in schools, hospitals, housing and infrastructure. Obviously, all of this is good news for job creation. However, too many construction workers are being forced into bogus self-employment contracts. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has estimated that this has cost the State €80 million annually since 2007. It also clearly undermines workers' rights. Can the Tánaiste tell the House when the report of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, on bogus subcontracted employment will be completed? When will it be published? Most important, will the Government promise to introduce legislation to protect workers and the taxpayer from bogus subcontracting, especially on State funded construction projects?

That is a joint project involving the Department of Finance, Revenue Commissioners and my Department. My Department has a particular interest because where bogus self-employment exists, we lose out on PRSI. This is because we do not get employer's PRSI. More significantly, the people concerned do not get the same social benefits as they would were they employed. A joint working group is addressing this. I met my officials this morning to discuss it. We expect the report to be published in the next couple of weeks.

Having said that, it is important to point out something to the people who are expressing the view that there has been a significant rise in self-employment and that this corresponds to bogus self-employment: the statistics do not support that view. The proportion of people who are self-employed and those employed are approximately the same. The latest CSO quarterly household national survey figures show that the increase in employment was almost entirely in employment rather than self-employment. Therefore, the idea that there has been a vast increase in self-employment figures due to bogus self-employment is not supported by the facts.