Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for appearing and laying out the reality on the ground for workers and the local employment service. Members of the committee have raised this matter with the Minister a number of times, including through parliamentary questions in the Dáil. She repeatedly comes back with the argument on EU procurement rules and states the Attorney General has copper-fastened this. It will be very difficult to push this along. I will support the call for a pause. The Minister will be before he House to take questions next week. I am sure members will table questions on the issue and apply as much pressure as much as we can.

The number of workers involved, at approximately 400, is not significant from the point of view of having an impact on the Minister. What are the unions doing in the area of industrial relations to apply pressure to the Minister who seems to be gung-ho about implementing this proposal, even though we have raised the issue of EU procurement rules with her?