David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister's speech today is an absolute joke of a response to what is a very serious issue. I am really angered by her response because essentially what she, the Taoiseach and the Government are doing is outsourcing what should be the first priority for all of us in this State, namely, the protection of workers, to employers. The Minister said that the Government cannot give blanket advice to all businesses and went on to talk about those who provide emergency services. Of course exceptions have to be made for such categories of workers but those who work in non-emergency services were being told, in some cases, to come to work and they do not have the luxury of avoiding their employers, as the Minister well knows. The Minister also said that ultimately, businesses must make their own individual decisions. No business should be allowed to make an individual decision that puts its staff at risk but many did. The Minister went on to say that there is no statutory obligation under employment law on an employer to pay an employee. Of course there is not; that is what happens in Fine Gael land, where employers do not have to provide for their workers. This response is an absolute joke. The Government cannot outsource this to the private sector and to employers any more.

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