Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)

I am sharing time with Deputy Colm Keaveney and Deputy Robert Dowds. I welcome the publication of this Bill and I appreciate the sincerity of purpose with which it was brought forward. Philosophically, I believe the Bill is sound in its ambition. It is guided by a genuinely held objective to defend the interests of those who most require their rights to be defended and vindicated by this Legislature. I made similar remarks, however, in response to the Bill put forward by Deputy O'Dea on behalf of Fianna Fáil last summer. It was a reheated version of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2009. At the time I stated that Fianna Fáil's crocodile tears about the plight of the low paid were an insult to crocodiles everywhere, and I stand over that remark. None the less, its new found support for the less well-off is welcome. The House should be reminded that it was Deputy O'Dea's party who offered the abolition of the JLC-ERO system to the troika, and that is reflected in the IMF report published last winter.

There are some similarities between this Bill and the Fianna Fáil reheated Bill. In fact, to all intents and purposes it is the same Bill. The words "imitation" and "flattery" spring to mind. We are in the current situation as a result of Mr. Justice Feeney's judgment a few weeks ago which found that the JLC and ERO system that has served us well for decades was unconstitutional. This judgment has had no little impact and has effectively dismantled the JLC and ERO system which has provided protection for the rights and conditions of people working in the hospitality, security, retail and other sectors for decades.

I will not oppose this Bill but I will also not go so far as to claim that it addresses the Feeney judgment to the point where I could say with confidence that if the Bill were passed today, we would not find it challenged in the courts by 9 a.m. on Monday. The Fianna Fáil Bill was bereft of solutions to the real problems we face and this Bill is also deficient in many respects. In fact, Deputy Tóibín admitted in his introduction that this legislation can be strengthened. He was admitting that the Bill is frail and weak. Therein lies the problem.

If we are honest with ourselves and the people who are so reliant on the reconstitution of a JLC-ERO system, we know a magic wand has not been produced today in the guise of this Bill. It has its merits and large elements of it and its general objective attract my support and that of my party. It is, however, insufficiently robust to do the job we are told it will do. There are inherent flaws that would leave it open to challenge. It will do little to recast or resurrect the type of vigorous system we desire, particularly those of us with a genuine interest in, and who have spent our lives defending, the interests of working people.

There are vested interests waiting in the wings who are only too happy to challenge any legislation brought forward today. For that reason, there is an onus on us to ensure we pass constitutional legislation that can withstand any challenges.

If this Bill was to proceed through all Stages, it would be challenged in the courts before we could say John Grace Fried Chicken. That is why there is an onus on all of us to get it right. As many leading trade unionists have acknowledged in recent weeks, there is a world of difference between the original draft proposals and those published in the wake of the Feeney judgment just a few weeks ago and informed by the actions of Labour Party Deputies and Ministers and notably by the work of the Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton. I am confident that the Government's legislation will be robust enough to address the fundamental question of property rights, for example, referred to by Feeney. That is the elephant in the room.

The new legislation, which is due very shortly, will protect the interests of the lower paid and it will deal fundamentally with the Sunday pay issue, giving due recognition to the sacrifices people make working on that day. It will deal robustly with the issue of adult rates and it will give teeth and legal effect to new codes of practice. Not one job will be created by the wholesale slashing of structures which have been operating successfully for generations.

I welcome the introduction of this Bill. Its thrust is very laudable but so too was the Fianna Fáil effort a few months ago. If this House is genuinely interested in protecting working people, the Members present today and other Members will support the Government's measures to be introduced shortly.

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