Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would make a number of points on the issue that the Deputy has raised about a particular firm. First of all, workers have a right to be consulted on any change in their contract. That goes without saying; it is a basic principle and we want to see that observed. The second point is that, in this country, we have the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court. Clearly, we would want to see these mechanisms being used to the full in a situation such as the Deputy describes. I will ask the Minister to liaise with her afterwards regarding any particular action that may be taken in terms of the situation that she has outlined.

The general point is that what we are seeing in Ireland at present is a huge increase in employment. We want to see well-paid jobs. We are seeing that across the country. We are seeing a huge reduction in unemployment from 15.7% down to just over 7% now. Clearly, we want to continue that. We launched our new jobs action plan just this week. We want to see that improvement being reflected right across the country and we want to see well-paying jobs being available for individuals and for families because that is the best way out of poverty.

Clearly, the Deputy has outlined a situation that she has concerns about in respect of Tesco but, in the first instance, it is for discussion between employers and employees. We have well-tested labour relations mechanisms available where there is conflict, and I would hope that they would be used.

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