A boatman from Co Louth who left 13 Latvian nationals stranded on an uninhabited island off Skerries, Co Dublin, on Saturday was interviewed by gardaí yesterday.
The 13 men and women had gone by boat to Colt Island to pick periwinkles. They expected to be picked up in the evening, but received a telephone call telling them that the boat due to bring them back had developed engine trouble and would be unable to come.
They were facing the prospect of having to spend the night on the island, without food or warm clothing, when they were rescued by Skerries lifeboat.
As well as the Garda, the Department of the Marine has also started an investigation into the incident, which a spokesman said was being taken "extremely seriously".
The Co Louth boatman could face a fine of up to €100,000 and a jail term of up to two years if the department investigation finds that he did not have the correct boat licence and safety equipment, such as life jackets, on board.
The Health and Safety Authority is also investigating.
The Latvians involved in the incident had last night still not presented themselves to gardaí despite repeated calls from the authorities, politicians and Siptu.
The group, three women and 10 men aged between 25-40, are believed to live in the Drogheda area.
One of the Latvians raised the alarm on Saturday evening by telephoning a friend on the mainland, who contacted the coastguard. The RNLI Skerries lifeboat went out to Colt Island, where the group was found huddled around a small fire.
"They were all a bit shook. They didn't have much English, and didn't give us much information. They did say they were living in Drogheda," said operations managers of Skerries lifeboat Niall McGrotty.
"The forecast was bad for that night. There was gale winds and heavy rain. It would have been bad if they had been sitting out in the open all night."
When brought ashore the Latvians had a quick coffee and said they did not want any medical attention, added Mr McGrotty.
By the time local gardaí arrived, most of the rescued Latvians had already left after telephoning for people to come and collect them.
Garda Peter Flynn from Skerries arrived to meet the rescued Latvians but found only two men and a women remaining.
"The had little or no English. They wouldn't tell me who their boss was."
John King from Siptu's branch in Dundalk, Co Louth, said yesterday that the union "had a lot of very serious concerns about the conditions people in that sector might be facing in terms of pay and working conditions.
"While Latvians are from one of the accession states and have the right to work in Ireland, they may not be aware of their rights.
"They might not know what they are entitled to. One reason for this is because sometimes their English isn't very good."
Siptu regional secretary Mike Jennings said the incident demonstrated that the Government had not learned lessons about the need to protect migrant workers.
Reacting to a comment by Fianna Fáil TD Jim Glennon that the episode was a "wake-up call", Mr Jennings asked: "How many wake-up calls do we need? Employment protection laws are still not being enforced, and there is no evidence that the political will is there to do it."
Siptu president Jack O'Connor said the events at Skerries had served once more to highlight "a trend that has become so widespread it is beginning to impact on national pay rates".
Labour TD for Dublin North Sean Ryan, and Green Party leader and Dublin North TD Trevor Sargent made appeals on radio yesterday for the Latvian workers to come forward.
Mr Ryan raised the incident of the Latvian periwinkle pickers in the Dáil yesterday, and is hoping to secure a special debate today.
"At the height of the Gama incident, the Minister for Trade and Employment promised additional labour inspectors. This has yet to be done."
PERIWINKLE: seaside herbivores
What is a periwinkle
The common edible periwinkle in Ireland is the littorina. It is collected widely by hand from rocky shores around the coast of Ireland, according to the Coastal and Marine Resources Centre based in University College Cork.
Periwinkle-picking in Ireland is a very limited activity. The Department of the Marine and Natural Resource cannot even estimate the market's size because it is so small.
The vast majority of Irish periwinkles are exported to the Continent.