Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Is maith an rud é go bhfuil deis agam labhairt ar an ábhar seo. Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis na Teachtaí Morgan agus Penrose, a chuir an rún seo os ár gcomhair.

The primary focus of this debate is on the need for urgent legislation to end the abuse of agency workers. It is about getting a seemingly oblivious Government to understand the urgency attached to this matter. It is also about getting it to appreciate the impact of the current position on ordinary workers whose standards of living are being gravely undermined by the lack of legislation for which we are calling in this motion.

The assertions made by Ministers last night that they are committed to decent standards of employment ring very hollow while at the same time they are attempting to downplay this serious issue and minimise the extent of the problems related to it. The Government and employers' representatives have so far refused to go beyond legislating for what are mainly procedural issues about the organisation and operation of the agencies. Both the Government and employers try to convince us that working as an agency worker is a lifestyle choice for these workers when the opposite is the case. Most of these workers would prefer a permanent contract and have little choice but to work as temporary agency workers.

I was astounded to hear the Minister of State with responsibility for labour affairs raise some doubts about what the unions have been saying. He said there were "strong assertion from trade unions that agency workers are being used increasingly to undermine basic. . .standards". As to whether they are true, those are the doubts he raised. The Minister of State is clearly not doing his job if he is unaware of the plethora of specific cases that have been highlighted by a range of unions. The Government, as its amendment suggests and any reading of it would confirm, is in denial about the abuse of agency workers.

Last night the Minister, Deputy Martin, said "it is too broad a generalisation to equate agency workers with migrant workers". He is correct, but it is grossly misleading to suggest that this is what we, in Opposition, or the trade unions, have been saying. We have been clear in saying this is an issue for all workers, with more Irish workers finding themselves faced with little prospect but to accept employment as an agency worker because no legislation on this area has been introduced since 1971.

The contributions of senior and junior Ministers to the debate last night confirmed what Sinn Féin has long argued, that protecting and defending workers' rights is not a priority for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. We are being asked to bring forward cases of exploitation yet only one employer has been prosecuted for failing to pay the minimum wage. Almost 300 have been found guilty of this practice over the past two years but have not been prosecuted. Clearly, exploitative employers are not being held to account.

Again, and against all international evidence, the issue of competitiveness was cited by the Minister, Deputy Martin, as a stumbling block to the legislation that is needed for workers, if current standards of living are to be protected. The message must be that we can have both competitiveness and strong protections of workers' rights.

In 2005, tens of thousands of people who supported workers took to the streets to protest at Irish Ferries' plans to replace its employees with workers supplied by an offshore employment agency. Irish Ferries wanted to pay rates substantially less than the minimum wage and the public were rightly outraged by that. The dispute occurred within six months of the Gama Construction scandal, which revealed what was happening to Turkish workers employed here through another offshore employment agency.

Ghlac an Rialtas aréir agus roimhe go bhfuil gá le athrú iomlán a dhéanamh ar an Employment Agency Act 1971. Níl an Rialtas tar éis a rá linn nó le éinne eile, nó a léiriú trí aon moladh a chuir chun tosaigh, cad a bheidh sa reachtaíocht. Tá buairt orainn, ón méid a bhí le rá aréir agus roimhe sin, nach mbeidh aon fiúntas sa reachtaíocht má thagann sé ón Rialtas seo.

The Government has known for years about the problems that have developed around agency workers, yet it has done nothing to legislate to protect them or address the position of agency workers being used to casualise work places and depress wages. The Government has not, as it claimed last night, adopted a constructive approach to the proposed EU directive on agency workers. Yet it is important to emphasise that this State does not have to wait for that directive to be agreed, it can legislate now. That is for what this motion calls. It can legislate for the equal treatment principle. Equality already applies in Ireland in respect of fixed-term workers and part-time workers. It is not, or at least it should not be, a huge step to develop legal provisions that would provide that agency workers be guaranteed equal treatment.

I will summarise what we are seeking and what our motion contains. We seek legislation that provides for agency workers to be entitled to pay parity; that allows for the entitlements and conditions of their directly employed co-workers, such as sick days, holiday leave, protection from dismissal and company benefits; and that allows for trade union membership. We need legislation that prohibits the use of agency workers in certain situations, that is, to replace workers on strike; and that makes the agency and the user company jointly responsible and liable so workers can ensure enforcement of their rights. Such legislation must prohibit agencies from charging the employee for an aspect of their recruitment or placement process and prohibit unfair discriminating "profiling" practices. We need legislation that makes it an offence for employers to use unlicensed agencies and requires an agency operating in Ireland, where it may be based, to be compliant not only with the law in Ireland but European law, whichever is the highest standard. We seek legislation that will increase sanctions on employers who ignore workers' rights and improve redress for the workers concerned. Also, it must place restrictions on the number of times employers can fill a post with an agency worker before he or she becomes permanent. How many agencies are contracted to supply workers to the State sector to overcome the public service embargo? That is a question for the Minister of State. How many agency workers work for the State, and why not grant them permanent contracts?

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