Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The misclassification of a worker as being self-employed when his or her terms and conditions mean he or she is in reality an employee is a matter of real concern. There is no single clear legal definition of the terms "employed" or "self-employed" in Irish or EU law. To determine a person's employment status, both the written or oral contract and the reality behind the contract must be taken into consideration.

At EU level, a directive has been proposed on improving working conditions in platform work. A key element of this proposal is that it will help to determine the correct employment status of people working for digital platforms.

Ireland has robust mechanisms for the determination of employment status and the Government is committed to tackling false self-employment wherever it occurs. I reiterate that this court decision and the need for any possible legislative changes will be very carefully considered in this context and I will bring the issues raised by the Deputy to the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond.

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