Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)

I have a couple of comments to make. First, the Government is not opposing this Bill because it recognises its intention is genuine. However, it does not believe it goes far enough and does not consider it to be sufficiently legally sound to achieve the job. Nevertheless, it recognises that this Bill constitutes a genuine attempt. There is nothing wrong with it on its own but it simply is not good enough. Rushing it through tonight or allowing it to proceed would only introduce more confusion and grey areas because it will not achieve the desired changes in this area. It will not deal with the judgment. It is piecemeal legislation and it will not provide clarity and direction. It is all right to move slowly in the right direction but moving fast in the wrong direction means one is no further on.

The Minister, Deputy Bruton, has committed to introducing legislation as soon as possible, and I understand this will be in the first week of the new Dáil session, which is only five or six weeks time. We are not taking a 12-week holiday as was the case in the past. For the sake of a few weeks let us get it right. I imagine Deputy O'Dea would like to get it right because it has been wrong for a long time. Others had the chance to fix it. They talked about it and even produced Bills and left them sitting there. This Government will do it because it said it would. This Government wants to see jobs being created and to protect jobs.

Deputy Ross referred to the debate about the minimum wage. The former Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment heard calls from various groups who wanted to reduce the minimum wage. We always asked them to prove to the committee that leaving the minimum wage alone was an impediment to job creation, but they could not prove it. We did the right thing by returning the rate to what it had been because it was wrong to lower it. It was not the IMF or the EU but rather a Fianna Fáil and Green Party Government that did that. It suggested it to the Commissioner and not the other way around. We put that right because we believe in protecting low-paid workers and we believe in protecting jobs.

The issue regarding the JLC agreements and other agreements is very complicated. The structures, rules and regulations, the red tape and the procedures are a deterrent and they are costing business, as are some of the rates. Deputy Ross gave the example of a local shop on a Sunday or a bank holiday Monday. In some cases such shops genuinely cannot afford to employ a person at twice the rate of pay or more in some cases. Something has to be done because this situation is costing jobs. Our duty is to create jobs and to protect jobs. I know that the owners of shops are working on Sundays or a bank holiday Monday rather than giving a job to a student or someone with no other source of income bar that one day a week. They are missing out on the opportunity for work.

I know that Christmas, Sunday and bank holiday work is unsocial work because I did that work for years when I was young. We have to recognise that fact but it is also a chance for a person to start a job and learn about the world of work. We owe a debt of gratitude to many of these businesses because they have given young people a start in a job.

It is right to reform this area to make it easier for jobs to be created. The evidence is that jobs have been lost and that is why it must be addressed, not because of a mean Government. The minimum wage was mean but we are planning a proper reform. The rates of pay will be dealt with by the joint labour committees. The Minister will not be lecturing us on the exact rates of pay because this will be done as part of the process. The reform has to be done. This Bill does not go far enough and it does not deal with all the implications of the judgment. We will not have the full details of the judgment until 25 July. It would be most unwise to push through legislation without having a proper, informed debate which would begin with a detailed judgment to hand.

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