Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

That makes it all the more shameful.

The position of the JLCs has been discussed and debated for several years. There were a number of legal challenges. People who read the political and industrial relations tea leaves, as no doubt Deputy Keaveney did, were very well aware that the minimal protection was under assault from various employers and their organisations and bodies. It should have come as no surprise when matters came to a head in the courts.

The Minister told us the Attorney General advised the Government that it could not appeal the decision or introduce emergency legislation. He essentially told the House that the Attorney General wrote him a prescription to sit on his hands. It would be curious to see the advice from the Attorney General but I assume that, as ever, when we ask to see the advice it will not be forthcoming.

I will amplify a point made by others. It is nonsense to suggest that workers who take home, on average, €9.66 an hour or €288 per week are a threat to Ireland's competitiveness. If this was not such a serious matter and workers were not under serious and immediate pressure it would almost be laughable. It is equally nonsense to suggest that culpability for the haemorrhage of jobs from the State lies at the feet of low paid workers. All of us have the sufficient analysis at this stage to understand what happened in the construction sector, the property bubble and the toxic banks that led us on a pathway of near ruin.

The Minister states the Bill is imperfect. It certainly would not be the first time that a Bill came through this House and moved on to Committee Stage in a state of imperfection. The Minister has, by his own words and in his contribution this morning, identified core areas he believes must be addressed in the new legislation. I dare say that his thinking is fairly developed on those matters and, of course, if this Bill goes to Committee Stage, the opportunity affords itself for amendment to be made.

The Minister also set out in clear terms some of the principal measures that he sees in respect of a reformed system: a reduction of the JLCs and no more Sunday premium rates. He cannot argue for protecting somebody's wage level and, quite correctly, set that out as his bottom line, and then even countenance the abolition of Sunday premium rates because by abolishing Sunday pay he will damage workers' income. In fact, in my constituency, which is no different to any other, I have been approached by many, particularly women working in the retail sector, who have said to me categorically that if the Sunday rate goes it will no longer be viable for them to go to work. In other words, there would be a potential Government policy or so-called reform driving ever more people, particularly women, into the welfare system. The Government has set out quite an aggressive stall in respect of welfare recipients and has laid the charge at many that they are perhaps making a lifestyle choice by falling into the arms of the welfare state. If the Minister's objective is genuinely to keep people out of welfare and at work, then he needs to be clear that he cannot do away with Sunday premium rates.

I commend the work of the trade unions. I also want to state here my party's ongoing solidarity with low-paid workers who have been through a traumatic period in their working and family lives. Expressions of genuine concern here in the Dáil are welcome but will ring hollow in the ears of low-paid workers if they do not get today a concrete indication that this matter will be dealt with in the near future. It is probably on that basis above all other concerns that I ask Deputies to support this Bill. Let us send a signal to low-paid workers that we understand the High Court ruling has had a potentially devastating implication for their livelihood and that as legislators we must respond to that in a timely fashion.

Of course, as legislators, we must reply to it in a robust fashion and we must produce legislation that will endure scrutiny in the courts, and the Government indicates that it will support Deputy Peadar Tóibín's Bill. If, today, the Bill goes to Committee, let us not allow it lapse and simply rest there indefinitely. I urge the Minister to seize the opportunity to bring forward the amendments he believes are constitutionally necessary. I ask him to drop any plans he has for an attack on premium and Sunday pay. Above all, I appeal to all Deputies to ensure that people out there who are struggling as it is do not have reconfirmed for them a view that we, as legislators and politicians, live in a cushioned bubble far away from any understanding of the reality of trying to get by on €288 a week.

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