Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

However, the real challenge for us in this dynamic workplace is to ensure that there is adequate, timely and effective enforcement of compliance with the statutory and other provisions already established. The Government gave recognition to this approach in Sustaining Progress. Arising from those commitments, it has completed reviews of the employment rights bodies, the mandate and resourcing of the labour inspectorate and the joint labour committee system.

The Government has established the employment rights group, in which the social partners and the employment rights bodies participate, to oversee the development of proposals for Government for a simplified body of employment rights legislation. The group also guides and drives the implementation of Government's decisions on the role and functions of the employment rights bodies themselves so as to ensure user-friendly and simplified complaint, appeal and enforcement procedures are put in place. All cases are dealt with initially by rights commissioners and only on appeal by the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

In accordance with the commitment in Sustaining Progress, the Government also completed a review of the mandate and resourcing of the labour inspectorate. The review, which was not prescriptive, presented the arguments for and against an extensive range of issues impacting on the labour inspectorate. It was circulated to the social partners in January 2005.

Last September, having obtained the views of the social partners, the Government established the employment rights compliance group, ERCG, to follow up that earlier work. Considerable consensus was achieved regarding the following: a streamlining of access to redress through the existing employment rights bodies, thus enabling individuals with the information and facility to vindicate their employment rights and entitlements more easily; greater emphasis on proper record keeping together with increased transparency regarding pay and the associated information provided to employees on payslips; organisational improvements in the service provided by the employment rights compliance section of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, including the labour inspectorate and including a regionalised structure; and major investment in education and information dissemination on employment rights obligations and entitlements for both employers and employees.

In addition, the implications of a new employment rights compliance model involving a re-orientation of employment rights procedures away from the civil courts towards the rights commissioner service were teased out. The Government welcomes the good work completed by the employment rights compliance group and notes that the current social partnership talks are tasked with the objective of deciding the final shape of the future compliance model and the organisational restructuring that may be required as a consequence.

For about five years now, employment rights literature has been available in nine different languages distributed through the work permit system, through embassies in Ireland, through citizen information centres and through other outlets. This has been followed up by a pilot scheme, which is under way, whereby classes in basic employment rights are given to migrant workers in their own language. I commend the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on its initiative in this regard and I endorse greater support for the social partners and other key players for educational and promotional purposes. I anticipate development in this respect once the outcomes of current social partnership discussions have been concluded.

Many workers from overseas work in sectors which are covered by the joint labour committee system where their terms and conditions are negotiated and agreed by the social partners within the framework of the joint labour committee or JLC system. The resulting agreements become employment regulation orders once cleared by the Labour Court and are enforceable through the labour inspectorate or in certain respects directly with the employment rights bodies themselves. This is a robust approach which has worked well for many years. However, again as part of Sustaining Progress, the Government undertook a review of the JLC system by outside consultants. On completion of that exercise the Government entered into consultations with the social partners with a view to developing proposals to refine the system further. These proposals will feature in the current social partnership negotiations.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, which came into effect on 1 September 2005, is major new legislation in the area of safety and health in the workplace. The primary focus of this Act is on the prevention of deaths and injuries in the workplace. Safety at work is paramount and it is most disquieting to see the fatality statistics over recent years. This Act is a serious wake-up call to employers who do not do enough to prevent accidents at their places of employment. Workers also have a duty not to endanger themselves or others and to be alert to dangerous situations.

This Act marks a new era in workplace health and safety. It sets out to shift the focus away from viewing health and safety as an add-on but to integrate it into a management system. It involves both workers and employers working together to achieve a safer and healthier work environment. The Health and Safety Authority or HSA is committed to engaging in a process of consultation with key players to make it user-friendly to employers and workers, especially those in small companies.

One of the innovations in the Act is the power to make regulations for the imposition of on-the-spot fines for breaches of the health and safety code. I have asked the board of the HSA to undertake consultations and to come back to me with recommendations on what are considered to be the appropriate areas for the levying of on-the-spot fines. The Act places duties on both employers and workers alike and I envisage that the on-the-spot fines will apply to both where a HSA inspector finds clear breaches of the health and safety code. The HSA is empowered under the Act to compile and publish a list of the names and addresses of businesses where a fine has been imposed by a court, a prohibition notice served by the HSA or where a court has made an interim or interlocutory order. This is an important step in the direction of the public's right to know.

There is also protection in the Act for employees against dismissal or penalisation for carrying out their duty in regard to safety matters. Where an employee is victimised or otherwise penalised for legitimate health and safety activities, the Act provides for redress. An employee is entitled to appeal to a rights commissioner for a determination. In the event of a further appeal, this can be heard by the Labour Court. Both the construction regulations and the general application regulations are in the final phase of preparation by the HSA.

I turn now to the issue of lifelong learning and training. Ireland can best foster social inclusion by promoting an environment where sustainable employment is available for all job seekers. Our job creation record over the lifetime of this Government has been the envy of our European partners and we now have the lowest unemployment rate in Europe. There are now nearly two million people working in our economy compared with 1,468,000 when we came into office in 1997, so more than 500,000 new jobs have been created.

Sustaining our employment, particularly in the increasingly knowledge-based environment in which we now compete, means that Ireland needs a workforce with higher level skills. Ireland is not alone in facing this requirement to upskill. Throughout the European Union, lifelong learning is important in the context of economic and social change, the rapid evolution of the knowledge society and demographic pressures resulting from an ageing population. The Lisbon Agenda aims to make the EU the most competitive and knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010.

Ireland has a long tradition of training people for entry into the labour market and we are close to EU averages in investment levels in this area. The Government has increased resources allocated to training people for employment consistently over recent years. This year FÁS will invest almost €250 million in this area, up from €230 million in 2005. The Department of Education and Science is also increasing its investment in the area of further and adult education. This will rise to approximately €146 million in 2006, an increase of €8 million on 2005, and will provide for an expansion on existing services in the sector in the coming year.

Increased funds have in recent years been provided to a number of programmes to support the one step up initiative through the training of those in employment. These include FÁS training initiatives for the employed, which have benefited from substantial increases in investment since 2004 when annual allocation rose from €8 million to the current annual levels of €35.6 million. This funding allows FÁS expand its existing competency development programme. It is also funding strategic alliances with the private sector in a new programme that saw FÁS commit €19 million in 2005 to 15 projects. These projects attracted a further €6 million in private sector funding and will see nearly 19,000 trainees benefiting from training that will focus on three key categories: basic skills provision for low skilled employees, occupationally specific upskilling for staff in certain sectors and management and entrepreneurial development. FÁS will seek further proposals for investment under this initiative later this year.

Skillnets Services Limited also receives funds from the Department to manage a networking programme that involves about 100 companies. It addresses general training needs as well as those of specific economic sectors. The public budget for this training in 2005 was €7.5 million and when allied to matching funds provided by employers, total funding available was significantly more. This year this budget is being increased to €8.5 million and will increase to €10 million in the years up to 2010.

Skillnets also manages the ACCEL or accelerated in-company skills initiative on behalf of my Department. This has a public budget of €16 million over the next two years. To date, 25 companies successfully bid for €9 million in grants in the first call for proposals in 2005. These projects are starting up now and it is expected that 20,000 employees from more than 2,000 companies will benefit from this training. ACCEL has launched a second call for proposals in 2006. Enterprise Ireland is also providing in-company training and 20 projects have been funded under its auspices since 2004. A total of about €6 million has been provided and the programme will run into 2007.

In addition to the above initiatives, specific funding has been made available from the national training fund for dedicated training purposes. This includes support for the continuing professional development of engineers, for promotion and training in the information and communications technology sector and for developing the range of skills required to work to the greatest effect in the community and voluntary sector. In summary, there has never been such a concentration of public funds devoted to training and skills development and this Government can be proud of its achievements to date.

I now propose to move on to social partnership and I am sure this House will agree that no Government other than this and the previous one led by the Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, has been more committed to the social partnership process. No other Government has been prepared to utilise social partnership to the maximum in seeking to advance the social and economic objectives to which we all aspire.

I want to show this House how the Government and the social partners can work together to propose, negotiate and develop practical and achievable improvements in the workplace as well as the attainment of a fair and inclusive society. These are challenges which the Government set itself in its programme for Government. The Government is proud of its achievements and can point to commitments delivered and progress made in the social partnership process. The process is accepted by most in this House and by many countries and commentators overseas as being a major contributor to the attainment of our societal goals. This is how it should be, as it is an inclusive process that gives a voice and role to many constituencies, none more so than unions and employers, together with the farming sector and the community and voluntary grouping.

The scene has been set, the negotiations are under way and, as the Taoiseach has already made clear, the Government will not be found wanting in contributing to the negotiations and to the attainment of an agreement. It is entirely appropriate that the social partners play an important role in the evolution and development of employment rights. It has been the practice of this Government that legislative proposals, the transposition of EU directives or reviews of legislation or processes are conducted against a background of consultation with the social partners. The development of employment and workplace entitlements always features in the social partnership discussions and agreements and has over recent times led to legislation, increased entitlements and additional resources towards enforcement.

As stated in our amendment, the Government is committed to the social partnership model as the most appropriate mechanism for advancing the interests of both employers and employees. I am confident the outcome will include a meaningful package in the area of employment rights standards, education, promotion, compliance and enforcement as well as a range of other priorities which will be identified and developed in a fashion that will embrace the demands and concerns of all parties.

Despite the magnificent performance of our economy and unprecedented levels of employment, the successful blending of labour and enterprise as manifested in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is questioned in the motion. It is irrefutable that our economy has been performing extremely well for the period of office of this and the immediately previous Administration. The image of our airports and seaports thronged with young people emigrating across the globe due to the lack of opportunity at home is a fading memory. Social partnership, underpinned by strong Government commitment and a genuine willingness by all concerned to identify the complementary and consensual areas between employers and employees, has in no small way contributed to that positive outcome and the success we experience today. That focus on complementary aspects is reflected in the ethos and functions of the Department, where enterprise and employment policies are seen as complementary and not in competition with each other.

In tracking the economic and labour force changes over the years since enterprise and employment were merged and with the addition of trade in 1997, it is clear the arrangement has worked very well. Unemployment rates are down from 1993 levels of 15.7% overall to 4.4% today, with long-term unemployment at just 1.4% compared to almost 9% in 1993. Over the same period the labour force grew by 43% from 1.4 million in 1993 to 2 million today.

Bringing together the interests of both employers and employees under one Minister is clearly in keeping with the partnership approach to decision and policy making and no clear argument has been advanced to date as to why this should be changed. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is structured in a way that recognises that enterprise and employment are not competing but complementary factors. Only by growing our competitiveness, increasing our trade performance and expanding enterprise performance can we produce sustainable high quality jobs. Similarly, only by ensuring we have a well trained and confident workforce that enjoys the protection of our health and safety and employment rights legislation can enterprise flourish.

Since 1993 when the Department was established in its current formation, jobs and real wages have grown at unprecedented rates, we have introduced the national minimum wage and seen a significant improvement in the legislative framework protecting workers. The welfare of workers, especially those most exposed to low incomes, has been transformed during this period. However, this has also helped sustain and been sustained by a parallel and unprecedented improvement in trade and enterprise performance, evidence that our pro-enterprise and pro-jobs policies have made a real difference. While the factors supporting this transformation are many and social partnership played its part, it is clear the current configuration of this Department is right for Ireland.

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