Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

It appears as though Fianna Fáil does not seek to have this Bill passed through all Stages before the Dáil rises for the recess but rather through Committee Stage only. In that sense, anything that might come out of it would not take effect until the autumn in any case and could not offer additional protection to workers formerly covered by the JLCs and employment regulation orders, EROs. If this is the case, the Bill amounts to nothing more than a stunt.

Fine Gael's response has been to state that the Minister, Deputy Bruton, will instead introduce an interim protection in the autumn. The idea that the person whose stated objective is to neutralise the entire system of registered employment agreements, REAs, and EROs will somehow transform himself into its saviour is laughable.

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