‘Deplorable conditions’ for road project workers

A group of workers who were paid less than the minimum wage and housed in “deplorable” conditions on a multi-million-euro road project have won their right to damages from the companies that employed them.

The 27 workers from Portugal are seeking €1.5m in backpay and illegal deductions after their ordeal on the Limerick-Nenagh stretch of the N7 from 2007-2009.

Their long-running claim for damages was approved in the High Court with the exact sum to be decided next month but presiding judge Mr Justice David Keane left no doubt over his views on the three defendant firms.