Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

What I have not heard in Deputy Peadar Tóibín's contribution to the debate is reference to the fact that all sides of industry have welcomed the general structure and reintroduction of SEOs. In recent years there has been a gap and exploitation has occurred. That is my view and I have said it publicly before and will say it again. The reintroduction of a system such as this can and will promote harmonious industrial relations. It has more than the potential to do so. If anybody is concerned about mechanisms to resolve differences between employees and employers, the legislation also provides a very strong dispute resolution mechanism. We should be mindful of it and people should point to it when they are discussing the legislation. They should consider all of the measures in the legislation in their entirety, including the protections provided for employees and how SEOs will be policed and enforced under the law.

Many myths have developed about how the old REA system operated. It was the case in many REAs that trade union officials had the name of an access officer with a particular company who would discuss issues as they arose. There was never any right of access to employees on site. Matters worked differently in some respects and sometimes there were informal arrangements, which was fine. It is up to trade unions to organise workers in particular sectors to ensure density is increased and I would be very supportive of this. It is the role of trade unions to represent their workers and work with the Government to ensure we have strong enforcement and compliance measures. They have done it and have been doing it for a long time during the years. In recent months they have been doing it with me and my colleagues to ensure we have strong legislation to protect the interests of working people. It is up to the State agencies, empowered by Parliament, to enforce the law and ensure those subject to the provisions of SEOs pay the rate and comply in every aspect.