A construction company has been given 21 days to produce employment records following an order from Galway Circuit Court.

In the first case of its kind, the Pensions Ombudsman has brought a case against 3D Restoration and Construction Ltd of Barnaderg, Co Galway, in order to obtain their records.

The Ombudsman, Paul Kenny said that in cases where employers refuse to provide requested information, he had no hesitation in resorting to the courts to obtain what was needed.

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He said: "I would hope that this judgement will serve as a warning to those who contemplate ignoring requests from my Office. They will lose in court and, as in this case, will have to pay all of my legal costs."

Mr Kenny pointed out that the building industry predominates in this type of issue.

"Employers in this sector are fully aware of their responsibilities to deduct and pay over pension contributions to the Construction Workers Pension Scheme in respect of their employees.

"I simply will not accept that employers are unaware of these responsibilities. Furthermore I will not tolerate various ploys, such as trying to classify the business as an employment agency, to try and circumvent responsibilities," he said.

(VB/JM)