Kate O'Connell (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As it happens, I mostly have ladies working for me on a regular 35-hour week or a 40-hour week. I also have a number of students and part-time workers. The issue is not that I cannot guarantee them hours, it is that they do not want them. They want to be off three weeks before and three weeks after their examinations. Essentially, they are on zero-hour contracts because they want them that way. That works for me in my small world. The witnesses might not know the answer to this question but they might direct me to whosoever might know it. How can we protect those types of workers who need to work to fund their education and need a greater degree of flexibility around hours than the primary or secondary wage earner in the family? How do we strike a balance whereby we can have zero-hour contracts for students but can ensure they are not taken advantage of and that we can also protect people who depend on their wages being paid every week into their accounts to pay their bills? Have the witnesses suggestions as to how we would deal with that? That is a practical concern I have. It is not the case that I believe anyone should have a zero-hour contract but there are people who require such contracts for their education or for some other reason.