Cyprian Brady (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. For many years we have heard, at various intervals, strong calls for workers' rights to be protected. It appears to me this only happened when issues arose which came to public attention, such as the case of the Turkish workers and a number of similar cases where exploitation was taking place.

The purpose of this Bill is to secure better compliance with employment legislation in accordance with provisions in Part 2, sections 11 to 16 of Towards 2016, the ten year framework social partnership agreement which we have in place. As we know, over recent days and weeks social partnership has come under the spotlight to a great extent. We must remember that social partnership has served us extremely well over the past 20 years. It has given us 20 years of stability, growth and improvements in rights, conditions and remuneration for workers.

As a country, over the years we have had a strong reputation and history of protecting workers. As Deputy Penrose mentioned, this probably comes from our culture and history. We have one of the highest minimum wages in Europe and a raft of legislation in place to protect workers in all sectors of our society. We were one of the first countries to bring in equal recognition of the rights of women. We have been very strong on protecting workers' rights to affiliate themselves and be members of unions. We have continued to do this consistently over the past 20 or 30 years.

As all speakers here have said we are now in a changed time and a different set of circumstances and are all aware of the pressures our economy is under. People do not want to listen to rhetoric about where we are going and how to get out of this situation. They want co-operation and an open-minded approach on all sides, whether from inside or outside the House. They do not want employers and employees to fight with each other. Rights on both sides, be they for the employer or the employee, bring with them responsibilities.

The Minister said it is intended to table amendments to this Bill. As public representatives we have all had representations and examples of how, in the current climate, small and medium-sized businesses which have provided employment over the years are suffering. In my constituency, many of the small and medium-sized shops, hotels and restaurants are under severe pressure and do not need extra pressure. I am confident any amendments tabled to this Bill will ensure legislation will not be introduced which will jeopardise the livelihood of entrepreneurs who have set up businesses or the people they employ.

Over recent years we have seen, in a relatively short space of time, many workers coming here from other countries. They came here for a reason and it is not the weather. They came here because we have good conditions in pay, work, protection and rights. For many years Irish people emigrated to other countries, specifically for economic reasons.

In the past ten or 15 years we have managed to turn that around and many people returned to Ireland from all parts of the world to work. One reason they came back is that they knew the legislation and protections we had in place would ensure that, as workers or employers, they would be protected. That is one of the attractions we have and it would be a huge shame for us to lose that.

We have listened to various arguments over the years. I understand that the position of Labour Party on this issue and that it is caught between a rock and a hard place. It is affiliated to the unions and over the years it has protected workers' rights, but we must ensure we get the balance right between protecting the rights of worker while not stymying or burying those who are brave enough to take a chance and set up their own business, be it small or medium-sized or in a rural or urban area.

We must not prevent such people taking a leap and making the step to opening a business and creating employment. That is the balance we must strike. I have every confidence that this Government, despite the difficulties and everything else that has been going on, will continue to balance rights on both sides of the situation.

Some of points of the Bill have already been discussed. One which struck me in particular was Part 5, which includes strengthening the obligations of employers and the rights of employees. The whole point of this Bill is to ensure that employees are not discriminated against or used for illegal or unscrupulous purposes and to protect employee rights. Some sections in the Bill, particularly section 50, provide immunity for any person who makes a bona fide report on breaches of employment legislation to the director of NERA or an officer of the director, the Minister or the gardaí.

As a corollary, subsection (3) makes it an offence for anyone to report in bad faith to any of those persons. It is getting the balance right and ensuring we do not have people making false accusations against employers, putting employers in a position where not only is their reputation but their functioning is jeopardised. That balance is something we have to protect and have managed to protect over the years.

We need a fair and even-handed implementation of all regulations. There is no point in imposing extra burdens on employers which result in workers losing out. Coming back to the detail of the Bill, many of its aspects manage to get the balance right. There are other sections which will have to be amended, particularly in the current climate.

We have all had approaches from people who find themselves in a position where they may be employing two, three or four people or more. Now, however, they feel that in the current climate, including confusion and uncertainty, they must rationalise their businesses. They end up being self-employed as a one-man operation. We are going back to the situation we had in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s when people managed to function outside the cover of statutory regulations, for whatever reason. In recessionary times there is pressure on people to change they way they operate, and while they may not wish to do so, they may feel they have no choice. The Government must ensure that every opportunity is made available so that employers can continue in business. In addition, when businesses are under pressure the Government must ensure that unscrupulous employers do not take advantage of indigenous workers or those from other countries.

Parts of the Bill will have to be amended but the thrust of it is correct. For many years we have led the way in providing protection both for employers and employees. If we continue to do that it will only stand to us in the future.

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