Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This is probably the first time virtually all Deputies have opposed a Bill. The Migrant Rights Centre and the Mandate trade union, both of which have many dealings with migrant workers, oppose the Bill because it fundamentally weakens the rights and protections afforded to workers. Domestic workers are housekeepers, childminders, nannies and au pairs, all of whom are covered by employment law, including in respect of the minimum wage. All domestic workers, including au pairs, come under the remit of the Workplace Relations Commission.

In recent years, Ireland strengthened the rights of domestic workers, from ratifying the International Labour Organization's domestic workers convention to introducing protection for workers in diplomats' households and commencing labour inspections of private homes. These and other advances have made Ireland a relatively safe country for domestic workers, although there is always room for improvement in this regard.

A survey carried out by the Migrant Rights Centre in 2015, which involved 550 au pairs, found that 98% of respondents were aged between 31 and 35 years, 80% did not have a written contract and 58% were paid less than €120 per week. The idea that au pairs are young people taking part in a cultural exchange aimed at improving their English does not correspond to the reality of exploitation experienced by workers in this area.

This Bill is staggering. It defines au pair placement as a cultural, learning and educational exchange that would include not more than 30 hours per week or seven hours per day spent doing light domestic duties in exchange for hospitality, lodgings and pocket money. The Fianna Fáil Party must define the terms "light domestic duties" and "pocket money".

What we need is not the Bill before us but the enforcement of existing law and an insistence that the agencies involved in au pairing make families and employers aware of their obligations under employment law. The Government must also provide the Workplace Relations Commission with the resources it needs to carry out inspections.

See this speech in context