Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Labour)

I thank the Technical Group for facilitating me in making my contribution to this important debate. I support this legislation. We must bear in mind the wider context of this legislation which is the struggle of workers in this economy to protect their rights, to fight for their entitlements and to achieve secure and safe pay. I refer in particular to the Vita Cortex workers who were outside the House today and also the brave young women in the La Senza shop in Liffey Valley who are fighting tooth and nail for their rights and their basic entitlements, as well as the nearly 1,000 workers who today lost their jobs in Ulster Bank. We must remember those people today as we discuss this legislation. I come to this debate as a democratic socialist and as a member of a trade union. I support those workers and stand shoulder to shoulder with them as we debate this important legislation.

The response of the Fianna Fáil Party to this legislation is quite contemptuous. Not only has the party had it sitting on the books while it was in government and failed to act but the mealy-mouthed response from Fianna Fáil to attempts to protect agency workers and ensure they achieve equality in pay and in the workplace is absolutely deplorable. I refer to examples of a particularly lukewarm response in some sections of the Fine Gael Party but I do not include Deputy Keating who has made a very positive and fine contribution. However, right across certain sectors of conservative Ireland there has been resistance to this legislation, but I, for one, am very happy to support it. I regard it as an important step forward on behalf of agency workers.

It must be remembered that within the mainstream debate, the rights of workers are increasingly considered to be disposable, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary presented by many studies. I refer to academic works such as The Spirit Level by Richard Wilkinson which shows that more equal societies always do better and create more and better jobs, more growth and a more harmonious community in which people can live and develop. There are still those who say that Irish wages must be slashed and the rights of Irish workers must be eroded further if we are to remain competitive, as they perceive it. I reject that analysis wholeheartedly because those conservative forces in our society - epitomised by the previous Government and others who have criticised this legislation - ignore the evidence of countries such as Scandinavia where high wages, secure work and strong trade unions are central to and the backbone of their competitive economies.

It is in the context of the efforts to make workers here more secure that this legislation is important. It is worth noting that the Bill did not make it to the House without opposition. While the Bill was opposed by the Government originally in 2002, its basic objectives have now been realised and I am glad to see it brought before the House. We must transpose into Irish law the EU directive on agency work to ensure agency workers are treated equally with direct employees in terms of basic pay and working conditions.

The Bill is a consequence of the work of trade unions throughout Europe, particularly the European Trade Union Confederation, which is dealing with the consequences of the deep changes in workplace organisation that have taken place in recent years. We must remember today the march by more than 100,000 workers in December 2005 against the exploitation of workers in Irish Ferries. That was a powerful demonstration against the race to the bottom. That was a vital show of strength by workers, but we still, not just in this country but across Europe, face a struggle against the race to the bottom and against attempts by organisations like the IMF and the European Commission to attack the rights of workers, our social welfare system and our public services all in the interest of the markets.

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