Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

It seems as if we are paying lip-service to the idea of equal treatment for agency workers but trying to exclude certain allowances and certain payments.

I accept fully the Ceann Comhairle's decision to rule amendment No. 18 out of order, but it is for the same reason that we, as Deputy Clare Daly indicated, had to refer specifically to the private sector because if we sought equality for all temporary agency employees, that would also be considered to be a charge on the Exchequer and would have been similarly ruled out of order because of the Minister's failure to deal with that issue of equality.

It seems to amount to the Government wanting the right to have a second tier of workers which it can exploit and not give the same rights and allowances to as ones that would be directly employed. There can be no other explanation for the Minister's refusal to deal with the issue of extending full equality to temporary agency workers in terms of all the rights, allowances and provisions that would be made for comparators who are directly employed.

I suppose that merely indicates that the point of agency workers is to undermine the pay and conditions of directly employed workers. It seems, in refusing to give equality in these area, the Minister is going along with that even while paying lip-service to the idea of giving equal rights to agency workers. It is disappointing that the Minister is doing that.

I strongly ask him to reconsider, although I doubt at this stage he will do so. It is simply not right or fair that agency workers should be given lesser rights when it comes to matters such as sick pay, pension entitlements and other arrangements that directly employed people have.

Similarly, although it is ruled out of order, the issue of persons who are permanently employed by the agencies being allowed to be paid as much as 50% less than those employed directly is outrageous and is a recipe to undermine the purpose of this legislation which is to give equality to agency workers. It is very disappointing.

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