Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

If the work on the report starts from today and the amendment is accepted, it will be at least three and a half months before the time period runs out because the Bill must pass through the Seanad and be signed by the President in order for it to be enacted and the three month timescale to kick in. It is welcome that the Minister has reduced the timescale from 12 months to four since Committee Stage last week. That is the nub of my concern. Unless there is a legislative deadline as there will have to be in the case of this amendment, the work will slip and the report will not be brought forward. I was worried last week by the Minister’s response to the amendment when he said he would report on all of these issues next year.

That reference to next year could mean budget day next year with the report coming back to say nothing can be done or that it has been decided not to do anything. Another year will then be lost for those seasonal workers and others who are directly affected by this. It really affects them in their daily lives. As such, the three month deadline must stand and at present the three month deadline means 14 weeks rather than 16 weeks. The Minister states in his contribution that he can do it. I do not doubt that the Minister, as he says, wishes to have it done within four months but with the best will in the world, it will slip and fall through the cracks in the absence of a deadline. We could very easily end up in the budgetary process next year before there is any conclusion in relation to the work.

The Minister referred to the 117 PRSI contributions where subsidiary employment does not kick in. None of these workers are affected by that. They would love to have 117 contributions in the previous three years. They would all love to be making 52 contributions every single year. It is not that any of these people do not want to work. In fact, they are extremely hard working, but the work just is not there. That is the simple fact of the matter. It is not likely to be there. This will roll out and affect other sectors nationally as well, which is important.

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