Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

On Friday last, 23 June, the Taoiseach's special adviser invited one of my constituents, who is involved in filing a new Standards in Public Office, SIPO, complaint about the undue influence of Uber and Deliveroo on public policy, to a meeting in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with two officials. My constituent was accompanied by the general secretary of the App Drivers and Couriers Union in the UK, Mr. James Farrar, who recently turned down a £100,000 hush-money payment as part of a settlement with Uber following a five year legal battle in the UK's Supreme Court.

During the meeting in question, the officials were asked to do a number of things - I have a full list here. First, they were asked that the precedent set by the Spanish Government in increasing the number of legal working hours per week be followed in order that those in Ireland on student visas might be allowed to work from 20 to 30 hours per week as a cost-of-living measure that will protect them from exploitation and from having to work in the informal economy to afford to live in this country. Second, that it be ensured that stamp 2 and other visa holders can open delivery accounts in their own names legally and that departmental definitions be updated to recognise that the type of work done by Deliveroo and Uber Eats riders in Ireland is not genuine self-employment, as envisaged when the current rules were introduced in 2010. It is clear that these riders are most definitely not conducting their own business here. The third ask was for a commitment to the speedy introduction of a new €6 per delivery minimum payment or an €18 per hour minimum wage for delivery couriers. This would be similar to the deal reached in New York city. The fourth ask was that the Government should ensure that payments can only increase in line with inflation and not decrease, as has been happening since 2019.

As the leader of the Government, will the Taoiseach proactively ensure a reversal of recent trends towards slave wages here? Those trends led to minimum payments for deliveries fall from €4.39 in 2019 to €2.90 in 2021 and to as little as €1.30 and 36 cent per delivery in 2023. This is all happening while Deliveroo advertises free delivery on billboards and as part of Amazon Prime membership. Will the Government follow examples elsewhere by fixing the fee per delivery at €6 or at €18 per hour for this dangerous work? Will it follow through on the other commitments given arising from meetings with delivery workers and their representatives on 10 March 2021 and on 23 June 2023? Will the Taoiseach and his colleagues in Government welcome and fully cooperate with new SIPO, Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and Europol investigations into any potential undue influence and preferential treatment these platform companies may have enjoyed thus far at national and European level? Will the Taoiseach support parliamentary enquiries at national and European level into the types of political influence these companies are trying to exert, especially after Deliveroo shareholders recently voted in favour of making political donations to and incurring political costs for those parties and politicians who do their bidding?

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