Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

I am happy to speak on this Bill. While I will table my concerns, I am in favour of the legislation's total cast and its intention.

Over the years, the trade union movement, which we delightfully like to call our social partners, has sought the codification and rationalisation of all of the measures accruing to it. We do not hear anything afterwards. The unions demand and get the measures, but when those measures are run to excess, it is left to us to pick up the pieces.

In this Bill and during the launch of a report, the Minister of State played up the role of an organisation called NERA. With tongue in cheek, I praise NERA's utter zeal in descending upon people at 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. and demanding to see their books, demanding to know who they are employing, demanding and demanding and demanding while the proprietors and their staff try to keep their businesses open and to make some money. I am in favour of people being zealous and committed to their jobs. In this case, however — not even tongue in cheek — I cannot commend the type of zeal that leads to the complete harassment of people.

I wish to recount a story that I have already related to the Minister of State. I also have been in correspondence with him but have got nowhere. Perhaps I will, but this issue has been dragged out for a long time. A small rural restaurant, of the type with which the Acting Chairman will be familiar, was set up in south County Westmeath. It is adjacent to, but not part of, a pub, which is run by the pub's owners. I expect the operators of the restaurant part of the building took out a kind of franchise or whatever. In any event, they run a lovely and highly interesting rural restaurant that is beautifully appointed, with good cuisine of good quality. However, people from NERA descended upon them. As the restaurant only opens five days a week, the owners fondly understood that Sunday would be one of their five days, in which case they would operate on Sundays in the same fashion on their other open days, namely, from Wednesday to Saturday. The restaurant did not open on Monday or Tuesday. The restaurant is located five miles from both Athlone and Moate and, therefore, those who wish to have a nice time and a treat there must either take taxis or nominate some poor outsider to be their driver for the night.

The restaurant owners were told they were obliged to pay double time on Sundays, which is extraordinary. The staff who worked in the restaurant told the proprietor that while they did not want double time, they did want their jobs. I do not know what the Minister of State intends to do in this regard. It is quite the most ridiculous situation I have ever heard of. The workers emphasised that they wanted their jobs, which they loved. They were earning some money, were getting a few decent tips and wished to keep their jobs. However, they were informed that they must get and take double time. Consequently, the restaurant, which was not going to keep that up, closed. If it has not closed, such extraordinary carry-on has brought it close to closure. Equally, no hotel in Athlone now offers Sunday lunch because of double time. However, I understand that in the city of Dublin, and perhaps in Cork, the rate for Sunday trading is time and one third. The Minister of State has assured me this is correct.

I had the Minister of State's job for three years and never came across anything as extraordinarily stupid as this. I do not understand the reason some outdated joint labour committees, JLCs, which were set up in 1931 or some extraordinarily long time ago, are still sitting. Moreover, there has been no change to their operations or functions. I fault the representatives of both employers and employees who have allowed matters to continue in this ridiculous fashion. Why should time and one third apply in the city of Dublin while double time applies in rural Westmeath and elsewhere, as well as urban Athlone and Mullingar? There is no longer a raison d'être for such carry-on, because of the many subsequent innovations, such as rights commissioners, various tribunals, labour services and so on ad nauseam. Then, plunged into the middle of this, came the prima donnas from NERA. These men and women decided they would come in the dead of night to scare the bejasus out of both the employers and the employees, to force double time down their necks and tell the former that if they do not give it, NERA will close them.

As I said at the outset, I am all for this legislation. It contains many good things and I am in favour of a good spirit between employers and employees. That is the way I have lived my life. Although I really enjoyed having responsibility for labour affairs, on completion of this Bill, unless the Minister of State succeeds in fixing this issue, he will have been a failure in his job. I am making this point plainly because why should the people put up with such nonsense? This is a total nonsense. Is NERA only able to go around the country with jackboots and an overbearing attitude to people? While I am sure that in ordinary life each man and woman in NERA is a decent bloke or woman, they are not when they are exercising this stupid regulation. The Minister of State simply should get rid of the outdated JLCs, which bear no relation to everyday life or to what now passes for decent living in Ireland.

There is no incentive for anyone to set up a business or restaurant when the rates one must pay are stuffed down one's neck on pain of closure. Moreover, the manner in which NERA conducts its business is highly ominous. While I took the opportunity to speak in the Chamber today simply to discuss this issue, I am tired of doing so. I raised it at a Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party meeting approximately six months ago but nothing has happened. While I received several letters, and I thank the Minister of State for his courtesy, nothing came out of the letters and the same carry-on continues. Perhaps NERA will take on more duties that will make it somewhat busier and it would make a great change were it to pester someone else for a while. However, the next thing I wish to hear from the Minister of State is an end to time and one third in Dublin and double time in County Westmeath.

The Minister of State should outline exactly what he intends to do about this issue in his response. Members of the parliamentary party have been driven daft with it. It is a topic that keeps arising and about which Members continue to hear. I understand exactly the points made by Deputy Mattie McGrath. Lest Opposition Members lose the run of themselves, this does not betoken opposition to trade unions or decent wages on the part of Fianna Fáil Members, or that they are in favour of exploitation — far from it. How could one be in favour of exploitation when those who are receiving the wages have stated that they do not want double time but do want their jobs? It is called common sense in the year 2009 and I hope someone is listening.

See this speech in context