Report looks set to back TD’s Gama claims
"I advise the deputy that it is not appropriate to name a company in the House when it is not here to defend itself," came the stern rebuke.
Nevertheless, a typically animated and passionate Mr Higgins, continued to name Gama and accuse the company of paying workers as little as €2 an hour.
At the time a bad-tempered Bertie Ahern was reluctant to engage, although he promised the Department of Enterprise would investigate.
In Leinster House, and even in union circles, the whispers had it that Mr Higgins had overstepped the mark and abused parliamentary privilege by making such sensational allegations. Fast forward six weeks and the Government's tone has changed utterly and Gama is very much on the back foot.
Yesterday, as Mr Higgins stood up to tell the Dáil that Gama was involved in "criminal exploitation in the extreme" the Ceann Comhairle never batted an eyelid.
"What in fact we have is a master fraud by a major entity in the construction scene in this country, a grand larceny of worker's wages amounting to millions of euro each month stolen from the workers and tens of millions over the last year alone," said Mr Higgins.
Responding, Tánaiste Mary Harney did not cast doubt on the claims.
"If the report bears out what you are saying and I'm not in any way casting doubt on what you are saying then it is a total disgrace and all the forces of the State will have to be brought to bear in relation to this to make sure that it cannot happen again," she said.
As Gama yesterday brought in the lawyers and requested a week to consider the Labour Inspectorate report, the wheels of Government were already in motion.
The report, details of which were revealed in Monday's Irish Examiner, was forwarded to the Attorney General on Monday and outlined at Cabinet on Tuesday.
While the investigation doesn't include conclusive evidence to back up Mr Higgins's allegations, it raises enough concerns for the Government to consider investigations by the Director of Corporate Enforcement and possibly the Revenue Commissioners.
As Gama's work permits remain suspended, consideration is already being given behind the scenes in the Department of Enterprise as to how to deal with the mess that would result if Gama were to pull out of Ireland or be forced off its numerous State projects.
Gama, which has parted company with its main public representative, declined to comment last night. But the tide had begun to turn against the firm on March 5.
A Gama announcement that a clerical error had resulted in hundreds of Turkish employees being underpaid by 8% put a different complexion on events.
In fact, the sudden Gama admission resulted from details of underpayments that a firm called Contractors Administration Services (CAS) had uncovered.
CAS is employed by the National Roads Authority (NRA) to ensure that all firms working on NRA projects are fully compliant with labour law.
The development was immediately seized by Joe Higgins as vindication of his allegations and saw a sudden sea change in the Government's attitude.
Within hours Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin had suspended the issuing of all new work permits to the company and moved swiftly to ensure that no workers would be sent home or moved from site to site without Labour Inspectorate permission.
In the meantime, inspectors from the Labour Inspectorate were becoming increasing concerned that heir investigation was uncovering more questions than it answered.
There were no answers from Gama last night as the company considered the Government's 30-page report. The last time Gama spoke publicly it did so through its solicitor Richard Grogan after the 8% underpayment was announced.
Mr Grogan said the company was fully aware that if the admission was "shown to be in any way incorrect" the result would effectively mean Gama would be "closed down in Ireland".
"The company have been very clearly told, by me and by others, that ... this has to be a full and complete disclosure and that if it isn't a full and complete disclosure that their future plans in Ireland are effectively gone," Mr Grogan said
Though, he has parted company with Gama, his comments appear perilously close to coming true.
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