Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Commissioner has given a clear answer. It is probably not as positive as I wanted it to be but I understand the point he is making in terms of the limitations that he sees in place in this regard. There is certainly food for thought there.

As my time is limited, I will move on to a second topic, which is the one the Commissioner addressed as the so-called “platform economy”. Having agreed with one of the earlier parts of his speech, I will now respectfully disagree with something in the opening statement provided. He stated:

No one is trying to "kill" or hamper the platform economy from developing. Quite the opposite. We want it to thrive.

Just ten minutes away from here is Camden Street and I stay in a hotel just beside it. Each evening in the darkness, one sees young people gathering with their bicycles. They are not being paid; they are just gathering outside like the hiring fairs of old, waiting to see if they will get a fare to deliver some fast food. They have no rights. They are deemed to be self-employed. The only word I would use to describe this is "exploitation". I would be concerned at the Commissioner’s point of view that he wants this platform economy to thrive. I do not want it to thrive. I want it to be regulated. I do not want my son or daughter to have a future whereby the wake up in the morning and look at an app on the phone to see whether they have work that day and what kind of work it will be. I am concerned with that statement and I would like to give the Commissioner the opportunity to respond and reassure us that the EU will take concrete and resolute steps to effectively regulate this platform economy in order that all workers have rights.