Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I do not trust one word that comes out of the mouth of Sinn Féin about employment rights, zero-hour contracts, low-hour contracts or anything else, when one considers the low-pay economy over which trade unionists say Sinn Féin presides in Northern Ireland. Consequently, I will not take lectures from it on its views on employment rights or the performance of the Labour Party in government on such rights. That is for others to decide. One will find that many others who are more expert in this area than Deputy Peadar Tóibín and who work on a daily basis with people to protect their employment rights and advance their agenda through trade unions are quite satisfied with the performance of the Labour Party in government, as well as with what it intends to do if returned to government. Based on the track record of Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland, I do not have much hope it would implement anything particularly strong for workers in the Republic were it to be successful in getting into government after the next general election. While I do not believe Sinn Féin wishes to be in government, that is another day's work.

It is also important to point out that during the recent Committee Stage debate on the Finance Bill the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, announced that there would shortly be public consultation on a range of issues related to employment practices and trends.

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