The Minister with responsibility for Fisheries says he would be in favour of an amnesty for migrants working illegally on fishing trawlers.

Simon Coveney is to lead a task-force to look into alleged widespread abuse of migrant workers in the Irish fishing industry.

It’s after a Guardian exposé on practises in the sector, but Minister Coveney says the Gardai have been investigating the matter for months.

"If there are people working in Ireland at the moment of course they should feel can come forward," he Coveney said.

"If they have concerns or frustrations or they feel they're being exploited we need to hear about that, and of course the fishing industry does no that needs to be done in a way that respects people, that is consistent with international law and is consistent with Irish law," he added.

The Justice Minister earlier announced that the government will set up a working group to deal with the issue of trafficked migrant workers on fishing boats.

Among the issues identified were people being paid half the minimum wage and being deprived of sleep and food.

Read more: Trafficked workers in Ireland's fishing industry

Minister Frances Fitzgerald says the issue was discussed at today's Cabinet meeting.

"An Garda Síochána have already started work and have done work on this issue. Other countries have faced it and have found solutions so we decided at cabinet today to establish a working group.

"Minister (for Marine) Coveney will be calling together a working group examine this issue with all of the relevant agencies, including the fishing industry," she said.

A group representing workers has said up to six out of 10 fishermen on Irish boats are migrants, most of whom are here illegally.

In a statement last night, Mr Coveney said he was very concerned about the allegations.

He also denied that the State has been turning a blind eye to the problem.

Minister Coveney said gardaí are investigating any possible links between the maritime industry and human trafficking.

Ken Fleming, Coordinator of the International Transport Workers' Federation told Newstalk's Breakfast he has been working on the issue for ten years:

Mr Fleming says the Department of Marine is very active, but they are having difficulty getting judges to take the issue seriously.

He complains that after an arduous process of getting cases to court, defendants are often offered the option of giving money to "the poor box".