David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This arose on Second Stage. I am not sure of any season that lasts six months. The reason that we picked six months is that it does take into account seasonal work. For example, a Christmas period would normally be a six to eight week period. I know that some people have said that six months is too short. If that is the case, they can put forward amendments to extend the time period. Personally, I believe that six months is reasonable to get a sense of the average hours worked. In fact, it is the recommendation that is made in the University of Limerick report. They are the people who looked at this. On page 124 of the report, recommendation 4(ii), it states:

For employees with a combination of minimum guaranteed hours and If and When hours, the mean number of hours worked in the previous 6 months (from the date of first hire or from the date of enacting legislation) will be taken to be the minimum number of hours stipulated in the contract of employment.

That recommendation t is exactly what this Bill does in a nutshell. One can have a debate on it, on the six months and so on, but UL also looked at the seasonal element and felt that six months was a reasonable time period. I believe it is reasonable but obviously if the committee feels it is unreasonable, it can extend the timeframe if it so chooses.