David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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We are all on the same page with respect to exploitation and low wages and so on. I think the Minister of State agrees with us on that. We want to shine a light there and make sure that does not happen.

Amendment No. 17 proposes to allow non-consultant hospital doctors to move from one public hospital to another within a two-year timeframe and the Department would have to be notified if that happens. I just want to bring up the conditions of non-consultant hospital doctors and the hours they work. If the reports are to be believed, they are really long. I am not sure anybody can perform to the highest possible level if they are working for 36 hours straight, especially if somebody is coming at you with a scalpel or whatever. That is something that really needs to be looked at.

On the other issue, if we get rid of seasonal work where somebody could come in here for a number of months or weeks to do a certain job, the alternative is that people come in and stay here and work full-time. They probably will not get work in those sectors and it may mean the sectors close down as they cannot actually operate at all. That would be a concern for me. For certain seasonal workers, this is what they do. They travel from country to country. Our job is to make sure that the conditions are good, that wages are good and that they are not exploited but still have the freedom to choose to come here if they want.

If we close the door on seasonal work completely, as some of my colleagues might be suggesting, it would mean the entire fruit, flower and other such industries would be in trouble. Will the Minister of State ensure that conditions and wages are at an acceptable level, that employees have the supports they need and that they have somewhere to go without fear if they have a complaint to make? It is very important that these mechanisms are put in place.