Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

We owe it to the people to fulfil our mandate. The policies we are implementing need to continue in the current difficult circumstances. We would be reneging on our duties if we went earlier than that.

The code of conduct will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. That should clarify the matter. It is a voluntarist code, but there is a statutory code of conduct as well. It is critically important to emphasise that there is nothing wrong with agency work. Agency work gives flexibility to employees and to business. Many people go to agencies to seek employment and it suits their particular needs. Not everyone wants to work five days a week, every week of the year. Some people for whatever reason, lifestyle choices etc., want flexibility, and an agency can provide this. On the other side of the equation, large-scale companies may have to shut down at times and bring in contractors to upgrade the facilities or whatever, and this is only short-term work. That suits those companies as well. This is the balance we are trying to protect. We do not want to interfere with the triangular relationship between agencies, employers and employees in user services, but want to ensure that the agencies are well-regulated, so that if difficulties arise we can pinpoint them and prosecute, as appropriate. If one looks at the indictable offences mentioned in the Bill, one sees that quite serious fines are being legislated for in this regard, as well as prison sentences. For all those reasons I believe this Bill is a very positive step.

Reference has been made to union recognition, which is a very important issue as well. The Industrial Relations Act 1997 worked very well in this regard until the Supreme Court decision. I believe we should go back to that, foment discussion and seek to repair that particular approach. Most people accept that it was fair and balanced. We have a voluntarist approach in this country where both sides of the industrial divide discuss in a calm and rational manner pay, working conditions and employee protection on the one hand as well as productivity issues on the other, as required by businesses. It is a two-way relationship, and the scales cannot be balanced too much in favour of one side or the other. I believe that rights without employment, however, are not much good to anyone. What is required is balance.

Reference was made to multinationals exploiting workers. I should like if the Deputy could bring such instances to my attention, because I find, by and large, that the multinationals in this country are very good payers and provide excellent conditions for their employees. I would genuinely urge him to bring these matters to the attention of NERA or elsewhere, if he has such concerns, but I hate those types of allegations being flung out in the Dáil here and being picked up. I believe that multinationals in general are good employers and they are enormously important for the economy. Some 100,000 people are employed in multinational companies in Ireland and they account for a significant proportion of the country's GDP. We must be conscious of their reputation as well.

I shall now try to address some of the issues raised by Deputies. In response to Deputy Costello as regards the issue of the temporary agency worker directive, the idea here was to encourage the EU to accept that we have a different approach to industrial relations in this country. Ireland was not stalling as regards the directive's implementation, simply because we were against it. We wanted to ensure we could get the flexibility that respects our industrial relations process. This meant, primarily, that social partners would be given the remit to decide on how the transposition might be achieved in accordance with industrial relations norms in this country. Other countries had collective bargaining in place and so had derogations from the temporary agency workers directive. That would have put the Irish economy at a grave competitive disadvantage, so we were conscious of this in the light of the need for both sides of industry to be actively involved.

Reference was made, too, to the need for the Government to engage with unions. It is critically important that people should understand this Government is open to discussions and dialogue all the time. In fact last year, the Taoiseach was castigated by Fine Gael for spending too long in discussions with the social partners.

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