Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Unfortunately, I am moved to be such because, until relatively recently, I had the privilege and pleasure of representing workers who, unfortunately, found themselves at the mercy of the wonderful legislation brought in by the people in Fine Gael and their best friends in Fianna Fáil who, when the opportunity presented itself, cut the minimum wage. Workers know, if they are watching proceedings this evening, who is on their side. They know who came in here to fight their corner. I am very proud that I came in here to fight on behalf of working people, as I have done all my life and as I will continue to do.

That is precisely what this legislation seeks to do. It seeks to give the woman who is working on a low-hour contract enough certainty. It seeks to give her a contract that will reflect the hours she works. These are people in my family and outside of this Chamber. I am sure the Deputies, Minister and Minister of State live very charmed lives. They never come up against the need for this legislation to protect workers but it is very real. There is a genuine need for these contracts to be brought in and for the protections contained within this legislation to be brought in. Workers need these protections. I have fought all my life against the people that the Ministers here seek to represent and I will continue to do so.

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