Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)

The Minister is on record saying that he wants to see a reduction in the wages of some workers covered by the JLC agreements. This policy inertia has been allowed to develop under the cover that the problem is too legally complex to deal with. The result is the Labour Party and Fine Gael will head off on their holidays while hundreds of thousands of lower income families are left to ponder their own uncertain economic future.

When the High Court made its ruling, it should have been an alarm call for the Government. Sinn Féin, realising the seriousness of the situation, immediately contacted the Minister to seek a commitment that the Government would appeal the court ruling. He refused. At that stage, we asked him to introduce legislation to shore up the JLCs and protect the workers they serve. Yet again he refused and nearly 200,000 families were let down. We raised the issue on the Order of Business and under Leaders' Questions. Earlier today, I introduced a Bill in an attempt to bring pressure to bear on the Government to do the right thing.

Every step along the way, the Government has simply refused to rise to the challenge. Sinn Féin continues to meet and engage with unions and campaign groups to ensure that our actions are guided by those most affected. I was delighted to share a platform on Saturday with UNITE, Mandate and the Migrant Rights' Centre when those groups endorsed Sinn Féin's attempts to have the issue of JLCs addressed through legislation.

There are 100,000 working poor in this State. These are people who cannot fully afford to feed their families. They have had to cut back on medication to have enough money to buy fuel in winter-time. This vacuum caused by the High Court ruling gives unscrupulous employers an opportunity to exploit workers. In addition, it gives such employers a competitive advantage over decent employers. Now is the time for politicians to safeguard the interests of workers. Now is the time for each TD to show leadership here and immediately enact legislation to protect the rights of employees.

Having studied the Fianna Fáil Bill, I can see clearly that it is not perfect, far from it. To vote against it, however, would be short sighted and would miss the point. Sinn Féin will therefore support this Bill on Second Stage. On Second Stage, we must ensure that the Bill is strengthened to reflect the court ruling and ensure that the strongest possible Bill is brought back to this House for a final vote. Likewise, the Sinn Féin Bill introduced to the House this afternoon can be built on and strengthened to ensure that JLCs are put on a legal footing which is beyond any further legal challenge.

The Bill before us is imperfect, but it is an attempt to deal with the problem confronting us. Sinn Féin will work with unions and campaigning groups so that the Bill, in its final form, will provide the strongest possible bulwark against any future attempt to undermine workers' pay and conditions.

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