Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on this important issue. Furthermore, I thank Sinn Féin for raising it in Private Members' time, though I fear it is unworkable.

While the proposed legislation seeks to enhance the period of notice to workers that are being made redundant, current legislation provides cover for such problems, and the Government is making great progress already in this area. I would like to acknowledge the work that has already been done by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in the area of reforming employment rights, and also industrial relations mechanisms. The Minister recently published a document which sets out the proposed shape of the new workplace relations structures that will be in place by the end of this year. However, there is more to be done and the Government will lead the charge.

The area of industrial relations has always been encased in red tape and bureaucracy, with arduous methods of seeking redress. There have been long delays under the current system, in some cases of up to two years, in scheduling hearings and also delays in issuing decisions. The Government is intent on replacing some of these outdated systems and implementing a new, quicker and more efficient way of seeking redress and providing enforcement. Already improvements have been made and progress has been achieved. For example, all first instance complaints are now being acknowledged, with the employer made aware within five days of the complaint being made. Previously this process could take up to seven or eight months. The aim is to target a period of just three months from the original complaint to the hearing and written decisions. This has already been achieved in the case of the Rights Commissioner hearings. It used to take an average of 142 days to schedule a hearing, but they are scheduled by the LRC in a matter of weeks.

The establishment of the workplace relations commission will mean that two bodies will replace the current five. Amalgamation shows a commitment to cut down on red tape and make this entire system fairer and quicker. These are just a few things that have already been achieved by the Government and by the end of the year we will have much more. We have a new workplace relations customer service, which provides for a point of contact for all employment rights and industrial relations information, among other things. The early resolution service, which although only embryonic, will act as an alternative to adjudication, in the hope that parties can resolve the issue themselves with the help of a case resolution officer.

In its first year of office, this Government has restored the minimum wage, invested over €500 million in our jobs initiative, reduced VAT in the tourism sector and set up the strategic investment fund to channel investment into the domestic economy. This is what the Labour and Fine Gael Government has done; it is a matter of public record.

Some trouble has arisen as a result of winding up orders from courts outside this jurisdiction that affect companies and workers operating within it. Perhaps the answer to this is to frame some European legislation and perhaps the Government could follow up on this. Those companies which are not based here but which operate in the Irish market, and therefore derive large profits from it, should not be given any contracts from any government or State bodies if they decide to break from normal employment practices in the Irish market. The Sinn Féin Bill proposes amendments that offer no real improvements for workers. Furthermore, the current structure provides support for those whose employer has become insolvent.

The Opposition, and Sinn Féin, do not have a monopoly on concern for workers' rights. Members of my family have been made redundant and been unemployed. Let no one tell me I do not know what this is about.

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