Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Discussions on the fair deal legislation are ongoing between the Departments and Attorney General. It is hoped the legislation will be ready shortly.

On low pay, Deputy Ó Caoláin will have seen the European Union charts which show that year after year Ireland, through the minimum wage and its tax policy of keeping low paid workers out of the tax net, is more committed to ensuring a better deal for low paid workers than any other country in Europe. We first made changes in this regard six or seven years ago and have continued to do so every year since then. Ireland has been commended in that regard. Our low paid workers are paid more and our minimum wage is the second highest in Europe. This money is not taxed. We also have the family income supplement which assists people with particular difficulties and various other supplements to assist large families. There can be no criticism of the protection afforded by us to our low paid workers. The issue is continuing to afford to do these things.

Deputy Ó Caoláin also asked about the compliance legislation. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, published a Bill on 18 March, which is since I last spoke on this issue. This legislation will completely overhaul the State's employment rights framework and meets the commitment contained in Towards 2016. It will serve to modernise the labour inspectorate and strengthen the enforcement of employment rights and work permits. It will also promote greater compliance in the workplace and increase penalties for those employers who seek to gain advantage by denying employees their entitlements under law.

The National Employment Rights Authority has received additional staff. To the best of my knowledge, when I last reported on this matter, only a few staff positions remained to be filled. The legislation empowers NERA labour inspectors to examine employment permits, prosecute offences and conduct investigations. It also provides for greater penalties, protection for whistleblowers and sets out a comprehensive list of the documents which must be kept by employers. All of the commitments set out in the negotiations on Towards 2016 are dealt with in this legislation. Other legislation deals with agency workers; they are not part of that Bill. We have honoured our commitments. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, will bring the legislation through the House this session.

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