John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and I apologise for running a little late. I read through the statements before I came in so I hope I have not missed anything. The key question is in the opening statement of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, which mentioned activation, but activation into what? That is why it is important we have the delegations here this morning and know the importance of the work we have agreed to undertake in this committee. There are difficulties in the labour market and we have seen wholesale exploitation between low or zero-hour contracts. Unfortunately, the Government has failed to tackle such issues. My colleague, Deputy Cullinane, brought forward legislation to introduce banded hour contracts last year but unfortunately it has been kicked down the road for 12 months. There is much difficulty and huge levels of exploitation, particularly through some of the labour activation schemes that have been in place. I will touch on them in a minute.

ICTU also mentions under-employment, which is a major concern tying in with zero-hour and low-hour contracts. Our rate is the second-highest level within the European Union, behind Spain, which is alarming. Does ICTU have any proposals on how to tackle that? Some labour activation schemes are positive but some have been very negative. I welcome that the Minister, after many calls from organisations and bodies, moved to abolish the JobBridge scheme last year. We are operating in a vacuum. The Minister stated he hoped to bring forward a replacement for JobBridge and we are still waiting for that.

It was interesting to read through IBEC's presentation. The major reservations my party had over the abuses within JobBridge were borne out in the Indecon report, which stated that elements of the scheme were fundamentally flawed in its design and roll-out. It is very alarming to read this. What do the representatives of IBEC think of deli assistant positions being advertised on JobBridge? Surely these should be fully paid, full-term employment as opposed to JobBridge employment. JobBridge aided and abetted the replacement of full-time, proper employment for the likes of deli assistants, which would have formerly required a day's or a half day's training, with JobBridge employment which exploited people. We are now in a vacuum and there is no replacement for the JobBridge scheme. Has the Minister held any consultation with organisations on what will happen next? My party has a number of proposals and my predecessor in this portfolio, Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh, brought forward well thought out proposals for a replacement scheme. I will pass the document on to anybody who is not aware of it. There was a serious focus on the need for apprenticeships and further education, as opposed to schemes such as JobBridge.

The representatives from ICTU touched on zero-hour contracts and family income supplement. Family income support backs up the low pay of workers and aids and abets many employers in abusing people's position. They know they can get away with zero-hour contracts and low-paid employment because the State will back it up with the family income supplement. Do the witnesses have any observations on the working family payment?