Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The workers and their skills are absolutely essential. It is something that gets lost in the debate.

I am sure Ms Ward will appreciate that it is extremely difficult for any workplace organiser to organise a union in these circumstances. I will not go through all of the reasons but Senator Gavan and I have personal experience of trying to do that. It is extremely tough. Clearly, if I am coming from another country, I will not be familiar with my rights and entitlements as a worker in this State. Who has the responsibility to advise them of their entitlements to the minimum wage or their other legal entitlements?

Is there a check on whether workers have been informed of their rights and entitlements in a language that they understand? One of the issues raised at the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response was the practice of distributing health and safety announcements and information in English but not in a language that is easily understood by the workforce. It is one thing to hand employees a piece of paper that lists their rights and entitlements but another thing entirely to hand them a piece of paper that contains information they can actually read.