Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will be supporting all the amendments. They were signalled by the Minister of State on Committee Stage. This does, however, highlight a discussion all three of us have had. The Workplace Relations Act finished a process I started in 2010. It has taken far too long to bring it through. I know it is complex legislation and that there was a lot of consultation but, politics aside, we need to move faster on these things. The delay was nothing, however, in comparison to the Companies Act which was 12 years in the making and which we are already reviewing in the context of a discussion earlier this morning on Clery's. That Act has been hardly out the door and we are looking at it again. As this Dáil ends, the next Dáil needs to commit to not only political reform but legislative reform also. We can give legislation the scrutiny and consultation required but it should not take five or 12 years, in particular when the legislation relates to a sector that moves as fast as enterprise. Practices and ways of doing business change quickly and our laws need to be able to keep up to speed with those changes. I fully support the motion and Fianna Fáil will support the amendments.

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