Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Let me pick up on some of the points the Deputy raised. Let us look at the facts - the CSO statistics. The unemployment rate peaked at 16% in 2012 when people had trusted Fine Gael, the Independent Alliance and Independents to manage the country's economy. It is now down to 5%. The long-term unemployment rate is 2%. For the past year or so, the number of full-time jobs has been increasing and the number of part-time jobs has been decreasing. We heard from the left consistent arguments that people were drifting into part-time work.

The facts say otherwise because part-time work is decreasing and full-time work is increasing. In addition, the number of people in self-employment as a proportion of the entire workforce is stable, so the suggestion that more people are being pushed into self-employment does not stand up. The proportion of people in self-employment is as much as it was many years ago.

To answer the Deputy's question about what we are doing, workers' rights legislation is currently being brought through the Houses by the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty. It deals with matters such as zero-hour contracts and banded hours. It is before the Dáil and I hope Members will co-operate with the Minister, Deputy Regina Doherty, in getting it passed before the recess this week. Second, the Cabinet subcommittee yesterday signed off on the straw man proposal, the draft proposal for auto-enrolment. There is an enormous inequality in Irish society at present where two thirds of people working in the private sector have no pension provision other than the State pension. People in the public sector generally have good, guaranteed pensions. We signed off yesterday on our proposals to change that by enrolling automatically everybody over the age of 23 years in a pension scheme, a top-up pension that they can add to their State pension, with the requirement that the employer contributes as well as the person who will benefit in the end. The State will also make a contribution. I look forward to the Minister, Deputy Regina Doherty, producing that, getting agreement on it and drafting the legislation so we can introduce it in 2021 or 2022.

With regard to the specific industrial relations issues the Deputy raised, as always I strongly encourage both sides, the unions and employers, to make use of the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. It is a State body that stands ready to intervene and to help resolve these disputes. I ask both sides to engage with the WRC, which is more than willing, capable and qualified to help broker a solution in the interests of citizens.

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