Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Cowen may be correct that the amendments arise from legacy issues. I am more concerned about the legacy left by other organisations and what we got wrong and right at the time. Previous speakers noted the importance of getting this right and ensuring that workers do not lose any of their rights, particularly pension rights, as a result of transferring to Irish Water. The letters of comfort provided to Team Aer Lingus workers were not worth the paper on which they were written.

It needs to be set in stone and the legislation needs to be watertight. That is not meant to be a pun.

It is not even about those with small pensions. The Minister is correct. Regardless of the size of a person's pension, if he or she paid into it and is entitled to it, it should be guaranteed that whatever he or she signed up to, whether with a local authority or another organisation, it should be transferred smoothly and seamlessly. That is what people want to hear and why the union lobbying has been so intense. We know what we got wrong in the past in regard to the many of the new organisations and bodies that have been set up which we have made a balls of, if one can excuse the expression. The most important thing is that we do not make the same mistake.

The amendments are trying to strengthen the position, in particular the sections that deal with workers' rights. When I spoke on the previous section, I mentioned rights. This is another section in which we should not undermine the rights of workers; rather, we should strengthen them.

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