Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am in the invidious position of having only five minutes to respond to all of the speakers, so I do not propose to embark on any oratorical flourishes or rhetoric but will merely respond to the points raised.

Ireland's corpus of employment rights legislation provides a comprehensive and strong set of rights. The Government has overseen the introduction of further significant reforms in the labour affairs area, including the restoration of the minimum wage to protect vulnerable workers. The historians who will read these transcripts, perhaps in 100 years' time, for the purposes of history should also look at the voting record of some of the Members opposite who have contributed to this evening's debate with regard to their position on the restoration of the minimum wage.

We have levelled the playing field for agency workers by bringing their wages into line with their full-time counterparts. We enacted the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012 after the High Court found employment regulation orders to be unconstitutional. We concluded the first round of consultations with stakeholders in line with the programme for Government commitment in the area of collective bargaining. Yesterday Deputy Nulty suggested that Ireland's laws on collective bargaining are not in conformity with International Labour Organization, ILO, conventions. It is important to reiterate in the context of the complaint made by ICTU and Impact that the ILO's committee on freedom of association did not find that Ireland is in breach of its obligations under ILO conventions in respect of collective bargaining rights. Neither did the ILO find that a resolution of the difficulties arising over the Ryanair Supreme Court judgment would require the introduction of a legal regime of mandatory trade union recognition. No such requirements are a feature of the international conventions to which Ireland is a party and which uphold the principles of voluntary negotiation between employers and workers' organisations. The programme for Government contains a commitment to reform the current law on employees' rights to engage in collective bargaining. We expect to be in a position to conclude the consultations on this commitment shortly and will report to Government in the autumn on the outcome of this process and on what proposals to improve the voluntary system of industrial relations might be introduced in 2013.

Reference was made by a number of Deputies to the recent Supreme Court ruling which struck down certain provisions of the Industrial Relations Act 1946 governing the registration of collective agreements. Deputy Calleary in particular drew attention to the implications of the absence of legally binding sectoral agreements. The existence of such legally backed agreements is recognised under European Union law and ensures, in accordance with the posted workers directive, that contractors from outside the jurisdiction who may be using employees from lower wage economies do not obtain an advantage over local contractors in terms of wage costs. This is a significant judgment which has raised a number of important questions, including possible implications for the 2012 Act. The Government intends to conclude its considerations of the implications of the Supreme Court decision as matter of urgency with a view to providing a constitutionally robust legislative framework in this area.

Deputy Nulty asked when Ireland will ratify the ILO convention on domestic workers. During its Presidency the Irish Government has worked in close co-operation with the European Commission to promote the ratification of this important convention in the EU. We have steered through a decision of the European Council which authorises member states to ratify the domestic workers convention. This decision is in keeping with Ireland's efforts to promote decent work for all inside and outside the Union, of which protecting the working conditions of workers is a key aspect, as well as being in line with Ireland's national priority of ratifying this convention. The Irish presidency will deliver the Council decision authorising member states of the European Union to ratify convention No. 189 on domestic workers. Ireland will be among the early ratifiers of this important convention. The forward momentum under the Irish Presidency in respect of the ratification process in the European Union needs to be built upon and there is a need for the European Union to provide leadership in the global effort to promote decent work for domestic workers and develop this sector.

Let nobody say the Government is regressive on the rights of workers. I will point to a robust body of EU legislation, with 66 European Union directives in which Ireland is a partner, on improvements in the workplace in terms of safety and conditions. There is an august and robust body of legislation on the rights of workers. If we are considering history it is important that we do not try to revise it in short five-minute bursts of rhetoric. Perhaps we should structure a debate during Private Members' time on the historical narrative and legacy of the Lock-out of 1913 to also look at the fact that in this country we now have wonderful opportunities for younger people in new areas of technology, nanotechnology, immunology and medical devices. We probably have the best research scientists and the best-educated workforce in Europe. We are being provided with new opportunities. Let this be the legacy of 1913. Let this be part of the debate. Let us make space for a proper debate on this legacy, but not in five-minute segments.

See this speech in context