Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State has claimed that "a strong suite of legislative protections is in place for part-time workers", but he has not addressed my point that there are no protections in the area to which my question refers. Workers who are on casual contracts - in the case of Dunnes Stores, workers were on 15 hour contracts - are aware that hours are used as a method of control by management. When Mandate conducted a survey of 1,400 Dunnes Stores workers, it discovered that 85% of them were of the view that if they spoke up or tried to do anything, their hours would be spread over five days and consequently they would not be able to avail of family income supplement etc. Ireland's rate of underemployment, which is the second-highest in the EU, has increased from 0.8% in 2008 to 7% at present. The Minister of State's colleague, the Tánaiste, told lone parents that reductions of between €36 and €86 in the weekly incomes of the most vulnerable families in our society could be offset if they went to their employers to seek extra hours. The reality is that in the absence of legislation that would force employers to give lone parents extra hours when such hours are available, the Tánaiste's comments are utterly meaningless and the cuts she has imposed will continue to butcher the living standards of lone parents. The Minister of State might want to comment on the unanimous vote at last week's Irish Congress of Trade Unions conference in favour of a motion along the lines of the point I am making, which is that if the Government is really serious about the conditions of lone parents, it will introduce this necessary legislation.

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