Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Heydon for raising this issue. As he will be aware, the EU directive on temporary agency work is due to be transposed into Irish law by 5 December 2011. A central aim of the directive is to ensure protection of temporary agency workers by applying the principle of equal treatment in their basic working and employment conditions. My Department initiated a public consultation on the national transposition of the directive in October 2010. Observations were provided by a number of key stakeholders and other interested parties. These views were complemented by follow-up consultations and bilateral meetings to elaborate further on the position of the interested parties, which help fully inform the preparation and development of the draft legislation. Government approval for the draft scheme of the Bill to give effect to the EU directive in Irish law was obtained in October. The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel is proceeding with urgency with the drafting of the Bill. It is my intention that the Bill will be published as soon as possible in December 2011. Certain discretions and derogations are available to member states under the directive. A key feature of the directive is that it provides for the possibility of the social partners at national level concluding an agreement that would allow for some variation in the application of the equal treatment principle, while respecting the necessary protections to be afforded to agency workers under the terms of the directive. This is intended to highlight the role of the social partners so that rules can be tailored as closely as possible to the interests and needs of the parties concerned.

In tandem with the preparation of the necessary legislation to give effect to the directive, my Department has been engaged in discussions with IBEC and ICTU, with the objective of facilitating agreement on the conclusion of a framework agreement under the terms of a derogation provided under Article 5.4 of the directive. This would allow for a qualifying period before the principle of equal treatment would apply to agency workers in Ireland. It would place us in a similar position to the UK and Northern Ireland, which have already obtained agreement on a 12-week qualifying period. In the absence of a framework agreement, the default position is that equal treatment will apply from the first day of the assignment of the agency worker to the hirer undertaking. I have facilitated discussions with the national social partners with the objective of concluding a framework agreement that would allow for a qualifying period. Officials in my Department have been engaged in a process of teasing out the prospects for securing agreement. No agreement on this issue has been reached to date.

In light of the imminence of the date on which the directive is due to be transposed, there are considerable time pressures to conclude these discussions. The Government, as a significant employer, has a substantial interest in ensuring that a qualifying period is put in place before equal treatment comes into play for temporary agency workers. Agency workers represent a significant and important part of the workforce in the health sector, for instance. In the context of the current moratorium on direct recruitment, the HSE is able to use agency workers in a flexible manner to respond to staff shortages. In the current challenging economic circumstances, every effort must be made by all parties to boost the means by which economic recovery can be achieved and employment can be maintained and grown. A derogation allowing for a waiting period would allow for the necessary leeway in terms of labour market flexibility. It would ensure the labour market conditions in this jurisdiction are in line with those in Northern Ireland and the UK.

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