There are currently 145 prosecutions going through the courts against building firms which have failed to register all their employees for a pension, sick pay or death-in-service.
The figures were released today as the Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern, officially opened the new offices of the Construction Industry Monitoring Agency (CIMA), which works to ensure that all construction firms meet their legal obligations.
Dr Brian Aylward, chairman of CIMA, said that there was a worrying number of workers contacting the agency where the employer was deducting the weekly contribution but not returning it to the scheme.
The number of building workers contributing to the industry pension scheme has increased by over 17% to 94,000.
Building firms are legally required to register all qualifying employees in a compliant pension scheme.
