Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We know from the Office for National Statistics in the UK and work carried out annually by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development that there are about 32,000 zero-hours contracts in Northern Ireland. Those figures are very worrying. We have a different system here where the protections of the Organisation of Working Time Act are applied to people in certain circumstances. There has been huge debate nationally and internationally on this.

The Deputy will agree there is hard data evidence to indicate to us the extent and prevalence of this problem. We have widened the study out to include low-hour contracts, contracts of eight hours or under, which are possibly more common than zero-hour contracts. There is a significant debate about this issue both nationally and internationally. People in Ireland will be familiar with the debate in the UK where it is believed there are approximately 1.4 million such contracts in operation. We want to ensure the jobs we are creating are decent, sustainable and pay well. We want to ensure work pays and that it conforms to my dignity of work and dignity at work agenda, an agenda to which the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste and the Minister for Social Protection are committed.

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