Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to have a discussion on this Bill, which will benefit both employers and employees. I commend the Tánaiste and the Minister of State, Deputy English, on their ongoing efforts to support businesses and workers across the State. It would be remiss of me not to also acknowledge the work of others, particularly those on the relevant committee, for the work they put into this.

This Bill is symbolic of a suite of measures that Government and my own party have taken to protect workers, while allowing the labour market and enterprises to grow even stronger. These measures include a wide range of improvements in the pay and conditions of workers across the State including, but not limited to, improvements in parental leave and the introduction of a new public holiday on 18 March and subsequently every St. Brigid's Day from 2023 onwards. We have also seen new measures brought in to protect workers' rights to keep their tips and gratuities. That was not only right but long overdue. Auto-enrolment for pensions will soon be introduced and the minimum wage has increased seven if not eight times over the last decade, since Fine Gael entered Government. This has had a profound impact on the lives of workers. Furthermore, workers now have the right to request remote working with an option to appeal decisions to the Workplace Relations Commission, allowing for a more flexible and adaptable approach to work. Statutory sick pay will add another layer of protection for employees. It will be one less thing to worry about. A large amount of work has also gone into the introduction of a living wage in Ireland. I note the ongoing work of Deputy Nash on that matter along with the Minister of State, Deputy English, and the Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar. Fine Gael has also remained steadfastly committed to the reduction of the tax burden on low and middle-income earners. This is an important step that cannot be overlooked.

The Opposition often attacks the Government, and Fine Gael specifically, with regard to workers' rights but, having named just a few recent successes, it is clear these are political charges not backed up by facts or the reality faced by workers every day. Progress must be recognised for what it is. I do not claim that we have got everything right, but I firmly believe that workers in Ireland are better off today than at any other time in the history of the State. We have an unprecedented 2.47 million people in employment. This is a remarkable achievement when one considers how matters stood in March 2011.

The country has gone into a radical recovery and, despite the challenges we have faced throughout the pandemic, we have emerged with strong growth forecasted for the years ahead. We have managed to do this because we entered into the pandemic from a position of strength. Indeed, during the pandemic, we saw swift and comprehensive action to protect both businesses and employees. We saw this in the introduction of the PUP, the wage subsidy scheme, etc. There can be no doubt that these measures made an invaluable contribution to people's lives during the pandemic and ensured that many businesses survived what was an unprecedented period. To my mind, these decisions reflected an attempt to be as fair and all-encompassing as possible in a time of global uncertainty and instability. I note that both Houses collectively supported virtually every measure that was introduced, particularly in 2020. Collectively, we worked extremely well under the circumstances to put in place the measures that were introduced.

This Bill is yet another effort and another example of the Government's continuing commitment to people and businesses. It will help employees recently made redundant who lost out on reckonable service during the emergency period, which has been extended until September next.

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It will ensure that employees will be able to avail of a special, tax-free, State payment of up to €1,860. It will allow employees to claim what is rightfully theirs.

The Tánaiste has demonstrated the foresight to ensure that the wave of redundancy claims will not impact on the ability of businesses to recover as we emerge from two years of restrictions and business closures. When the history of this pandemic is eventually written, it will show that the Government and, indeed, these Houses rose to the occasion and led our people safely through the fight against this deadly virus. It will also show that the Government, at every turn, has put people’s health and safety first and spared no expense in supporting people financially in the context of the decision to prioritise health.

This is not an easy time, and many families have endured stress and worry regarding whether their jobs, companies or industries would be there when the restrictions were lifted. Given the numbers in employment and our economic recovery, which has been nothing short of miraculous, I hope this legislation, support for which has been demonstrated in the contributions thus far, will have a swift passage through the Houses and will be enacted as soon as possible.

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