Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is fair to say that we, as Ministers, have over the past nine years committed to proving our worth when it comes to industrial relations. The Industrial Relations Act 2015 was quite a large Act. Previously, we had 15 or 16 years of discussion and legal cases. We tried to bring certainty to this and we acted on that with that legislation. We have built on that since and we have shown our absolute commitment here. The national minimum wage has been increased four or five times over the past nine years since we have been in government. When it comes to any cases, we try to strengthen the position of employees and workers. Naturally, we try to bring employers with us on that journey at all times and to get that balance right and that is what the legislation was about.

It is important that we concentrate on appealing the court decision and trying to get that appeal right. The ruling in this case calls into question the constitutionality behind the regulations and statutory instruments that were based on the relevant legislation. We will concentrate on this issue in the weeks and months ahead, and both the Tánaiste and I will engage with trade union representatives as part of that. There is no doubting our commitment to this area.

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