Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)

This Bill will be beneficial for employees, employers and society in the long term. The transposition of the EU directive into Irish law is long overdue, as there has been a great increase in the number of agency workers here, particularly in recent years. There was a sudden dip in the number of agency staff a few years ago due to the dramatic decline in the construction industry, but during the past 12 months there has been a steady increase in number of people on the agencies' books. That is mainly due to people who were previously unemployed having completed upskilling courses and highly qualified people in various disciplines seeking work with employment agencies. By and large, agency workers are of the highest quality, have excellent qualifications and are a vital component in the efforts to revitalise our economy.

The process of consultation with the various stakeholders was commenced by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, as it was then titled, as far back as October 2010 and subsequently pursued by the current Minister, Deputy Bruton, since he took office but, unfortunately, with the non-agreement of some aspects of the directive, there has been undue delay in the introduction of the Bill. I must give credit to the Minister for making the Bill retrospective with effect from 5 December 2011. I welcome that initiative. I hope it will ensure the agency workers will have the same pay as the workers they replace with effect from that date. Up to now, they have not enjoyed the same terms and conditions of employment as workers they have replaced. The company paid the agency and the agency paid the agency worker, but the agency took a cut of the worker's pay and made huge profits on the back of the agency workers. The agencies took a disproportionate rate and that should not have been the practice, but at last they are being brought into line.

One aspect of the Bill about which I am unhappy is that pension provision is not properly covered. Also, bonus payments, sick pay schemes and benefits-in-kind do not come within the scope of the Bill. I strongly believe the Bill should be amended to address these issues. The fewer agency employees who are covered by occupational pensions, the more of these people who will be dependent on the State at a later date for the old age pension. In terms of a defined contribution scheme, at a minimum, 5% of the salary of an agency worker should be paid into a fund to ensure that when that worker retires, he or she will not be completely dependent on the State.

Another aspect that is relevant in terms of employment is that the level of unionisation in the private sector has greatly decreased. I ask that the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, to convey to the Minister for Finance my request that he reinstate an earlier scheme that was removed in the 2010 budget. Under that scheme, union subscriptions were allowable as a tax deduction. As in the private sector, the level of professional representation by unions for workers has fallen to 23%. This is an alarming figure, given that such workers should be entitled to professional representation. The measure that was introduced in the 2010 budget was a deterrent. The significance of the decease in union representation in the private sector is highlighted by the fact that there is 100% union representation in the public service. I ask that this request be conveyed to the Minister for Finance.

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