Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This is an important day for the advancement of workers' rights. We salute all the workers across various employments, including the Dunnes Stores workers for helping to achieve this.

It is not a day for political hijacking, but many people put a good deal of work into this. The Low Pay Commission was established some years ago by my colleagues. That was an important initial spark, as it were, in this area. The precarious nature of employment has been rampant in various industries, especially those industries mentioned. My colleague, the former Minister of State, Senator Gerald Nash, and those involved in Limerick study were instrumental. Their work represents a pivotal moment.

This is a start but far more work remains to be done. We have spoken about bogus self-employment in this House. We will have to get to the bottom of it. There are too many ifs and buts about it. Everyone has a different view. I trust that since the Minister gave the commitment she gave today, we will see the matter followed through in 2019 and that we will deal with the scourge once and for all.

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