Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

That sounds more like a threat than a promise, Minister.

In response to what the Minister has said, I agree that we are way short of 80%. We are miles away from it. Notwithstanding that, in my opinion, which may not be shared other people in this House, the best defence a worker can have at work us to join their union and be active in it. It is also presented as evidence that most workers, given the opportunity, will want to join, be part of and be active in their trade union. The view from IBEC was very different, so the Government will have to take a position on this. There were widely divergent views on how much legislation, if any, would be required. It would be welcome if the Government could be a little bit more proactive. I do not think there is anything wrong with setting the target or, while it is not in the gift of the Minister to directly organise workers and nobody is expecting him to do so, creating the conditions under which workers can more easily become organised. I do not think there is anything wrong with the target of 80%. That would be a worthwhile aspiration for the Government to hold in common with workers.

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