John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I feel a sense of déjÀ vu. I agree with Deputy Keaveney's comments that the Bill is rather similar to one introduced in 2009. I was Fine Gael's enterprise spokesman in the Seanad when it discussed Second Stage of similar legislation, the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2009, which was agreed by all parties in both Houses. For Fianna Fáil to propose what is more or less the same Bill is a bit rich, as is its claim that it supports poorly paid workers. For 14 years, Fianna Fáil had the opportunity to support them and could have introduced legislation in the past year and a half, but it did not.

Given our support for the Bill a year and a half ago, we will not vote it down tonight, but the legislation's thrust does not address most of the key issues raised by the Feeney judgment in the High Court a couple of weeks ago. Deputy Doyle was correct to state that the Minister, Deputy Bruton, had done a great deal of work on this area in recent months. Thankfully, when the Houses return in September, the Minister will be in a position to introduce a more detailed and comprehensive Bill to address a complex set of questions.

Approximately 450,000 people in our society are out of work. It must be the clear priority of everyone in both Houses to ensure we do everything we can during the lifetime of this Oireachtas to return as many of those people to work as possible. I support the Minister's efforts to reform the JLC structure. While debating the previous Bill in the Seanad a year and a half ago, I highlighted to the then Minister, Mr. Batt O'Keeffe, the inadequacies of the JLC system whereby different payments are made in different parts of the country based purely on a job's geographical location and not on the role being performed. The Minister, Deputy Bruton, is correct to try to reform that structure.

I do not agree with some Deputies who said people are playing politics with this issue. The Government has already shown itself to be committed to protecting the poorest workers by increasing the minimum wage to the level from which our predecessors reduced it. We are committed to ensuring the lowest paid workers are looked after, but our overarching commitment must be to the 450,000 people who do not have jobs but want them.

Before attending this debate, I spoke with a friend who has been offered a job in London and is about to leave. I have countless friends living in that city and other parts of the world because of the policies pursued for 14 years by Deputy O'Dea's party in government. It is disingenuous to introduce this legislation and claim that Fianna Fáil is looking after the poorest workers in the land when it is responsible for so many of them needing to leave the country in the first place.

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