Mr. Adrian Kane:

Coming back to the Bill and things that are not in it and what could be done, as Mr. Dooley has said, there is a union dividend. Even stepping back from that, the biggest problem we have in the State is inequity in terms of the distribution of wealth. There is the adequate minimum wage directive but there is no reference to that here in terms of setting out a framework of how we get to 80%. There is no reference to public procurement and building in progressive approaches to it, and insisting that there is at least the right to collective bargaining. We are met with hostility in every sector of the economy in trying to give effect to the rights of workers to be collectively represented.

I am not getting into the merits of the argument and asking if one is better than the other, but the facts speak for themselves in terms of quality of employment and the union dividend I talk about. The issue that needs to be incorporated into the Bill is public procurement and using it as a progressive force for the distribution of wealth and better quality work. We can see that in the-----