Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

I welcome the steps taken by the Government to date to improve the lot of workers. An aspect of the debate that not been acknowledged so far is the productive reform of employment rights and industrial relations bodies and the significant progress made in this regard. Prior to the introduction of the workplace relations customer service in January, it took up to eight months in some instances for employee complaints to be logged and the employer notified. This notification now takes place within five days of a complaint being logged by the employee. This is a long overdue and positive development for workers to ensure a greater sense of fairness and accountability. I regret that some of these aspects have not been acknowledged. While it is a worthy subject and we all support the sentiments expressed about workers' rights, we must be constructive and fair.

To strengthen further the sense of fairness and justice for workers, the reform undertaken by the Government since taking office has led to major improvements in waiting times for hearings with a rights commissioner. As alluded to, in 2010 it took an average of 142 days to have a hearing scheduled with the LRC. Waiting times to schedule a hearing with the rights commissioner are now a matter of weeks. These positive developments are welcomed by all those who have been forced to avail of their offices.

There have been further administrative improvements with regard to the associated paperwork. A single complaint form has been produced which replaces the previous array of more than 30 complaint forms. These and other improvements are to be welcomed by all sides of the House.

Dealing with the specifics of the Bill, it is important that we deal with requests for an extension of notification or consultation periods sensibly and practically. We must recognise the current period of notification has served the State and the workforce well in many cases in the past 30 years. It is not prudent or advisable to change legislation based on the experience of a minority of cases that, by and large, do not represent the norm, without taking collective note of the entire picture at any one time.

As legislators, our work must be informed by the people we represent. These are challenging times for society and the need to protect the vulnerable, including workers, is undisputed. Any attempt, however, to forcibly swing the pendulum in one direction or another must be made carefully, cognisant of the changing circumstances of all stakeholders.

Further proposals made in the Bill such as imposing a 60 day deadline for hearings are being addressed in the Minister's reforms of the statutory workplace relations, structures and processes. He is determined to put in place a world class workplace relations service. I have referred to this issue, while outlining the positive developments such as the vast improvements in waiting times for hearings with a rights commissioner.

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