Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Not at all. Before I call Senator Gavan, I would like to mention that my background is in retail. My family owned an independent grocery retailer for 17 years and was a member of RGDATA. We have a family jewellery business as well. I have been on both sides of the counter as an employee and as an employer. I accept Ms Higgins's point about the importance of businesses having good working relationships with their staff. A retailer who asks a member of staff to open a small shop in a small town at 7 a.m. must be sure that he or she will turn up to turn on the coffee machine and take in the newspapers, etc. It is very important. Although many smaller shops and businesses have good working relationships with their employees, it is fair to say that issues have been flagged to all of us as elected representatives. That is why we are looking at this proposal. The uncertainty of working mothers and fathers who do not know from week to week how many hours they might have is one of the issues that has been flagged to me on many occasions. The lack of regular hours from week to week makes it harder for such people to look for loans for cars or houses. I know it is more difficult to get a mortgage now. When people are organising child care, they need to know whether their child needs to be minded for two days next week or three days the following week.

I appreciate the points that have been made by the retailers because I have been in their position. However, we need to try to address the issues that exist. That is what the committee is trying to do. We accept there are many good employers who look after their staff. We are cognisant that the activities of some businesses are determined by factors like tourism numbers or the weather. We understand that a shop beside a university, a college or a school will be very busy in September, but will not do much business in June, July or August. As I have said, this issue has been flagged with all of us as elected representatives. The Government is examining it at the moment with the intention of introducing legislation. It would not be drafting legislation unless an issue had arisen at some stage. We need to tease this out. We have to try to get our heads around these important issues. We are not saying all employers are the same. We need to try to get a handle on the fact that some workers feel discommoded. They do not think they are getting the right treatment. I needed to put that on the record.