Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

Students can study Russian on the leaving certificate curriculum. There are a number of Confucius Institutes throughout the State where Chinese languages may be learned, as well as at University College Cork and quite a number of secondary schools. As to Portuguese, I may revert to the Deputy on that one. I note the point he is making; we are conscious of that.

In his introductory speech, the Minister set out the rationale for the proposed Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Bill 2011, which is necessary to meet our obligation to transpose the EU directive on temporary and agency workers. In the contributions by Deputies on the Bill, it has been evident that there is, in general, an overall welcome for the Bill in this House, with most Deputies expressing their support in recognition of the fact that it is a fair and balanced measure to improve the level of protection for agency workers under employment law. While Deputies have indicated broad support for the thrust of the Bill, I note the intention on the part of a number of Deputies to table amendments on Committee Stage in order to achieve greater clarity in some aspects of the Bill.

In several interventions on the Bill, there has been a strong emphasis on the need for balance in the manner in which the EU directive is transposed, so that the necessary protections for agency workers do not act as a deterrent to our ability to sustain existing jobs and increase employment. Given the current challenges that face the Government in the domestic labour market and the economy generally, the Bill has been drafted with a view to achieving this necessary balance. It provides that agency workers are afforded equal treatment, in respect of their basic working and employment conditions, with directly recruited employees who occupy the same job. This marks a further important step forward in workers' rights and builds on the already considerable baseline of rights afforded to agency workers in this country who are protected under the existing suite of employment legislation.

The Government is fully committed to decent standards of employment across the spectrum of work. It is clear that agency workers have, on an incremental basis, been brought within the scope of employment rights legislation over many years, including legislation on the payment of wages and unfair dismissals. In addition, agency workers in Ireland, unlike in some other jurisdictions, also enjoy entitlements under redundancy payment legislation. In terms of minimum standards of pay, temporary agency workers are already covered in legislation governing the national minimum wage; as Deputies will be aware, the Government has, true to the commitment given in the pre-election period last year, reversed the reduction in the minimum wage rate. This Bill therefore builds on existing standards of protection that are conferred on agency workers and reflects the Government's willingness to fully support the principle of fairer treatment for agency workers.

The Government must have regard to other equally valid concerns that have been expressed about the need to create a positive environment for businesses to grow and develop. A number of Deputies referred to the importance of agency workers in the multinational sector as well as in the domestic economy. A fully functioning labour market that contributes to the retention of jobs, and indeed future growth, is important in these challenging times. We must maintain labour market flexibility in all areas, including the area of agency work, which provides flexibility for workers and employers alike.

Deputies raised a number of issues during the course of the debate. With regard to the failure of the national social partners to reach agreement on a qualifying period before equal treatment would apply, this is, as the Minister outlined in his introductory speech on the Bill, a matter of regret, as it would at least mean that recruitment agencies that operate both north and south of the Border would be operating under similar arrangements in both jurisdictions to allow an all-of-Ireland approach. While there is still time for the national social partners to negotiate agreement on this issue should the basis for such an agreement become apparent before the deliberations of the Oireachtas on this Bill are complete and the Bill is enacted, the basis for such agreement is not currently in evidence and, as Deputies will be aware, the Legislature cannot unilaterally provide for this derogation.

The legislation is, with the exception of the offence provisions, being made retrospective to 5 December 2011 - that is, the date of transposition of the directive. This is because the State is obligated by virtue of its EU commitments under the treaties to have the transposing measure in place as and from the transposition date, and the advice available to the Government indicates that this course of action is required. I appreciate the difficulties associated with retrospective application, and that is why, in the interest of providing the greatest possible level of clarity to all parties affected by this legislation, my Department moved quickly, following the breakdown of negotiations on the qualifying period with the national social partners on 30 November 2011, to communicate with the various stakeholders. Advertisements were taken out in the national newspapers and the Department produced a guidance document and placed it on its website to cover the issues of greatest interest to all parties.

A number of Deputies referred to the importance of agency working in the multinational and domestic sector and pointed out that, contrary to common perception, agency workers are in some instances very well remunerated. It is important to note that the directive and this Bill aim to provide a new minimum floor of basic entitlements and pay. For this reason, there is no intention to include other elements that are not required by the directive, such as pensions, sick pay, maternity top-up and benefits-in-kind. The latter are discretionary elements that are not, in the words of the directive, binding and generally applicable. Given the current economic circumstances, now is not the time to try to provide gilt-edged conditions of employment when the creation of employment on a fair and equitable basis is what is required.

Under this Bill, agency workers are entitled to be treated, in their basic working and employment conditions, including pay, as if they were directly recruited by the hiring organisation to occupy the same job. I am conscious that a number of interventions have focused on the need for a comparator in this situation, and have referred to the tests under section 2 of the Bill in which any such comparable employee might be identified. I am conscious that the Bill needs to be as clear as possible to ensure delivery of the fundamental principle enshrined in Article 5.1 of the directive. In this regard, it is not necessary for the purposes of this legislation and the entitlement of agency workers to equal treatment to have a real - what might be termed flesh-and-blood - comparator; section 6 of the Bill provides for this. Of course, where there is such a comparator, that makes it easier to establish that equal treatment applies, and this is provided for in section 6(1)(a) of the Bill. Where there is no such comparator, section 6(2)(b) effectively places the onus of responsibility on the hirer to notify the employment agency of the relevant terms and conditions, including pay rates, that would apply if a comparable employee were to be hired by the hirer.

A number of Deputies referred to the fact that the outworking of the legislation gives rise to intricate and complex issues at an operational level. For this reason, they considered that the Bill would benefit from further clarification in some instances. In legislation of this nature, which is designed to embrace the main principles and policies at issue, it is difficult to encompass all of the outworking of the legislation that follows on from the Bill. While I agree that the Bill will need to be perfected in certain aspects to provide some necessary clarifications - in that context, it is intended to table some amendments on Committee Stage - many of the issues raised by Deputies will be clarified by the development of further guidance. It has been the practice of the Department in introducing new employment legislation to prepare a guidance publication that is better geared to deal in greater depth with the detail required, and that is also the intention in this instance.

Finally, there was some discussion about section 7 of the Bill. Deputy Boyd Barrett, in particular, had concerns about this section in case it was intended as some type of escape hatch from the provisions of the Bill. It is important to clarify that this is not the intention behind section 7, which is a provision that is welcomed by all stakeholders in that it will recognise existing collective arrangements in place such as under registered employment agreements in some sectors. It will also allow for the conclusion, in the future, of collective arrangements at workplace or sectoral level and provides a mechanism for the registration, subject to approval, of these agreements by the Labour Court. This type of flexibility in the labour market is very much welcomed by all parties that have an interest in this legislation.

As I mentioned earlier, it is intended to bring forward a number of amendments on Committee Stage with a view to clarifying certain aspects that have been already mentioned. I thank the Deputies for their considered interventions on this important Bill.

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