Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I ask both Deputies to hold back until they see the proposals in our Bill. I think they have seen most of them already. This is a carefully crafted Bill. It is good legislation.

It is a response to the UL study. It took a lot of time in consultation with the unions and IBEC to put it together. Sinn Féin's Bill is flawed and we will not put flawed legislation through the House. Employment legislation takes time to prepare. It is very hard to change legislation once it is in place. It is much easier to put a bit of work into and consult on it. There were 48 submissions after the UL study. This is good legislation and the response we have received from all sides has been very positive. We have heard very few concerns from employers about the banded hours we are proposing because the banded hours Bill will reflect the amount of time an employee has worked over an 18-month rather than a six-month period. It is more real and in the interests of the employee. We want to protect low-paid workers. That is the idea behind the legislation. It is to protect low-paid and vulnerable workers who have been abused in recent years. I ask Deputies to support our Bill when it is brought before the House.

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