Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will speak directly to amendment No. 18. One element of the amendment relates to the requirement as I see it and as, I think, do other Opposition spokespersons and parties as well, that representation from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions should be explicitly provided for in the legislation. That is not unusual. One would imagine, if the prevalent primary employer body that represents the construction industry is to be housing and accommodating the registration body, that in the interests of balance there should be, at the very least, some kind of explicit reference and requirement to have representation from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on the body. I would have thought that this requirement is obvious for a number of different reasons, including that ICTU is the largest civil society organisation on the island of Ireland and it represents a very considerable number of construction workers who have considerable expertise in this area and could bring their own skill-sets, expertise and professionalism to bear on this. They are also homeowners and active citizens who are concerned about housing standards, housing more generally, planning and our built environment and the environment more generally.

I ask the Minister of State to consider that and to respond to the points made by Deputy Ó Broin because we were given some indication during our brief contributions on Committee Stage that the Minister and the Department would look at some adjustments to the various provisions relating to this section. I would appreciate an update on that.

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