Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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I will take it from there. The Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach had a meeting with the Central Bank, and the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council as well, yesterday. It was very obviously that people in this country have never worked so hard, and they are working really hard, but the rates of deprivation continue to rise. That is what we need to examine. That is why I want to commend everyone here and begin by thanking ICTU, the INTO and SIPTU for their outstanding leadership and determination to represent workers across the island irrespective of their political aspirations. It is hugely important. I want to commend them on upholding workers rights and on organising and defending the great strides that organised labour has achieved across the island. While we speak about all the things that need to be done, a lot has been achieved as well in representing 750,000 workers directly as well as many more thousands who support their vision but are not part of a union. It would not have happened without the single-minded approach of the ICTU, INTO, SIPTU and other trade unions. I also thank everyone for being here today and for bringing the trade union view to the constitutional debate about the future of Ireland. I am aware there is a campaigning group of trade unions who organise and take part in debates about the constitutional future. The groups here are ensuring that organised labour is not left behind and the views on workers' rights in the future of Ireland are a central part of the fabric of the debate.

The unions are crucial to the work this committee is doing in looking forward, preparing, being open and involving everybody in the conversation and the vision of what a new Ireland might look like for all of us, regardless of what constitutional preference people might have. They have foresight and connections with workers' rights across the island. We need to remember the workers we are trying to attract back from among the Irish diaspora all over the world. I know many teachers who are working in Dubai and in other parts of the Middle East who were trained here. We need to create opportunities for them to work across this island and to bring them back here to address some of the challenges we have.

From the unions' perspective the witnesses are right to highlight that Brexit has created the context whereby discussion and debate about the possibility of constitutional change on the island of Ireland has come more to the fore in some quarters. As outlined in their presentations, they are right in believing that such a debate should be as inclusive and open as possible.

I have a general question about workers' rights to start with. What changes could made to improve workers' rights now, North and South, which would make the transition to a new Ireland easier where workers' rights are legally upheld and permanently protected? I ask that broader question first and then I have a number of others.