Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

Ireland is now the third country in Europe in the context of the number of European works councils, EWCs, based here. It is a requirement under EU law for major corporations to have councils for, effectively, consultation and discussion with their employees. After Brexit, a substantial number of companies moved their EWCs to this country. Millions of workers, therefore, are affected by how EWCs operate here. In recent weeks, we have seen major lay-offs by tech multinationals. We have seen the danger that Ireland will be used as the wild west with regard to workers' rights, as part of a race to the bottom affecting workers here and right across Europe.

The European Commission has found that our legislation on EWCs, particularly as regards disputes, does not live up to the EU directive and has sent a formal notice to that effect to the Government. What is the Government doing to ensure that our legislation meets EU standards, especially as regards allowing for disputes to be taken by EWCs? A significant first case was taken to the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, last week, the finding of which highlighted many issues regarding legislation. One conclusion was that a code of practice on EWCs should be in place. Will the Government commit to introducing such a code of conduct, as exists in many other European countries? Another conclusion of the WRC decision was that the chairpersons of EWCs were effectively shouldered with half the costs of training themselves, which goes against the whole basic principle that it is the company that pays for training and other things to do with the EWC.

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