Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am just stating a fact that employment law is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, as are the mechanisms for dealing with disputes.

Regarding the protection of workers, significant changes were made in 2019 to section 481 and how it operated. There is an increased emphasis on upskilling and life-long learning as well as much greater scrutiny. I hope that these changes will ensure that any alleged malpractice prior to 2019 is not repeated in today's audiovisual industry.

In addition to those changes, the "Safe to Create" programme that I launched in October provides for a dignity at work framework whereby all workers should have the right to expect a workplace that is free from bullying, harassment, humiliation, intimidation, victimisation and any other negative behaviour. Screen Producers Ireland, SPI, would strongly refute any claim of blacklisting in the Irish film industry. SPI can demonstrate its commitment to its relationship with the unions and is doing additional work in the areas of skills development and training. We are doing whatever we can to protect workers' rights.

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