Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The matter relating to the hotel industry does not revolve around introducing even further legislation, rather it relates to the implementation and enforcement of existing law. The critical issue is that Ireland has in place a minimum wage. Sweden did not have a minimum wage and, as a result, the Laval judgment is extremely specific to that country. The absence of legal frameworks in Sweden made it fundamentally vulnerable. In this country there are recognised employment agreements, REAs, in the area of construction, joint labour committees, JLCs, operate in certain sectors and there is also the minimum wage.

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