Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour)

The introduction of the amended Bill last night by Deputy Tóibín was interesting. There was a touch of history in that he made reference to the fact that the amendments to the legislation were being moved on May Day, or as some of us call it International Labour Day. The touch of history to which I referred relates to the fact that we do not traditionally connect Sinn Féin with May Day. We do connect Sinn Féin with Easter Sunday for obvious reasons because we are dealing with two different traditions. The reference to May Day brought back a memory to me and reminded me also that we are one year away from the celebration of the centenary of the Dublin Lock-Out. My grandfather used to say to us that he could never vote for Sinn Féin because Sinn Féin and Arthur Griffith refused to publicly support the Dublin Lock-Out. He never forgave them for that, as was the case with many others. In his very good biography, Seán O'Casey makes reference to how Mr. Larkin and Mr. Connolly felt about it. I do not say it is a bad thing; in fact it is a positive thing that people move towards recognising the working class and its struggle.

I will quickly move on as I am sharing my time with this good Cork man - Deputy Ciarán Lynch. I have grave reservations about the proposed amendment to section 9 of the 1977 Act. Other points have been made about the other amendments. Employers are well able to look after themselves. However, a mistake has been made in section 9; I do not suggest by any means that it was deliberate. I am someone who was made redundant in recent years. This is my first job since being made redundant. I am beginning to wish that I had not been made redundant but nevertheless, let us move on. When one gets over the initial effect of being made redundant, especially if one has a family and a mortgage, the first thing on which one zones in is on getting an alternative job. That is where the mistake is made in section 9 of the amended Bill, which could have catastrophic effects.

I recall strike committees in the 1980s when a company was being closed. If one extends the period to 90 days it could put the situation in complete disarray if one has workers in a factory who are involved in a trade union looking for jobs. In fairness to Deputy English, he stole my thunder. The TUC in Britain is moving towards our model based on the 1977 legislation. I accept there are differences among the unions in this country on the issue. We should reserve ourselves in regard to section 9. There is no point in me talking about the other sections because they were adequately covered by other speakers.

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