Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

On account of the campaigning of film workers, and issues I raised with the Minister, an undertaking was brought in that requires compliance with the relevant employment legislation. Specifically, and probably most important, it requires compliance with the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act, which means the people employed gain recognition of service. Under the operation of the law, they can gain contracts of indefinite duration even though the work is episodic. However, the employers are signing the Government's declaration and then completely refusing to acknowledge those rights for workers. They are making fools of the Government. The head of Screen Producers Ireland, SPI, who the Minister of State says is negotiating an agreement, gave evidence to the court stating there was no possible basis, having due regard to the realities of the sector, on which a relationship of employment could be said to have existed between the parties. That was on the basis of the clearly established industry norms of practices governing working arrangements in the sector, including section 481. The employers who sign that undertaking and get the film tax relief are saying they cannot have employees. How can there be quality employment and training when they are saying they have no employees?

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