Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to make a brief contribution to a very important debate. The purpose of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2009 is to strengthen the existing system for the making of employment regulation orders and registered employment agreements. The Bill also provides for the amendment of the definition of "worker", as made in section 23 of the Industrial Relations Act 1990. As we know, this Bill was necessitated by recent High Court challenges.

I was interested in Deputy Costello's point about a particular restaurant near Grafton Street, although I am not familiar with it. The Deputy might be interested to hear that I went to a football match at a very famous ground in England some time ago. The very prominent chairman of that club told me that a long time ago he had bought properties in Grafton Street. I am not getting at this chairman of a Premiership club and I will not name him. He told me that the property he had bought in Grafton Street was a good investment. What Deputy Costello said in regard to those landlords is very accurate. I am not getting at anybody and I do not know if the particular individual has retained his property but I am sure he has because it was a good investment for him at the time.

I welcome the presence of the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, who was my former neighbour in the dungeons of LH2000. It is good to see him progressing so well and I compliment him on the job he is doing. I do not patronise him when I say this. In any dealings I have had with the Minister of State and his office, he has been very helpful.

This Bill sums up my position regarding employment issues. Deputy Martin Ferris was wondering how I would slip Tallaght into this speech. While there are many people working in Tallaght, there are many people in Tallaght who are unemployed. I am not afraid to express my concern for those people in my constituency and in the Dublin region generally who are unemployed. The unemployment figures for those registering at the social welfare office have increased hugely in the past year or so, like everywhere else in the country, and there are now almost 10,000 people unemployed in Tallaght. This is relevant in the context of this Bill.

When I first worked, I worked in Carton Brothers wholesalers, a well-known old Irish company then situated in Halston Street. I was lucky to get a job there and while there took an interest in industrial relations and trade unions. A great man in Carton's at the time, Joe Forde, encouraged me to become involved in this area and nominated me for the Dublin District Council at the time. It may come as a shock to some Members that I have that trade union background and that I took evening courses in industrial relations. At a time I was not sure of what I wanted to do with my life, this was something I genuinely wanted to do. I had no notions about politics at the time, but wanted to do something meaningful. That is not to say politics are not meaningful this week. I was wondering earlier how I would slip George Lee into this contribution, but I will take the advice of Deputy Enda Kenny and move on. I do not want to get into any more trouble with my colleagues in Fine Gael.

I recall that in those days we responded in a trade union way with regard to little issues that arose in the workplace. I often think back to those times and wonder what I was doing. Things have changed over the years. The role of the trade unions has been modified and they have had to do things differently. This legislation points that up. The year 1946 was a long time ago, but it was a good year for me. Other people have probably told the Minister, both in this debate and elsewhere, that there is much to be done in this area. At the same time, industrial relations policy is changing by the day. It has certainly changed over the past year and some of the attitudes that prevailed over a year ago are now outdated. However, as the recession recedes and the good times return in some form, industrial relations policy must take stock again. At this point in our history, it is good we are taking a look at industrial relations and the various issues involved.

I am not going to say that I am comfortable about the section in the Bill dealing with inability to pay. At the same time, I understand the reason the challenge is there. There are two sides to the issue. We must continue to create a situation where there is confidence in business and where jobs are created. The issue is about creating jobs. Bill Clinton may have said, "It's the economy, stupid", but it is now all about jobs. This is true for all of our constituencies. The situation is no different in Tallaght in Dublin South-West than it is Mayo, Wexford, Cork or Kerry. We must all fight our corner and come in here and make the case for jobs for our constituencies. I am not going to fight with anybody else, although I know some of my country cousins often say that everything goes to Dublin. It does not. However, Dublin is the capital of the country and I am not afraid to stand up and fight for it. Lest that statement start a rumour, I am not nor will I be a candidate for Mayor of Dublin. I am quite happy being a Fianna Fáil Deputy for Dublin South-West.

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