Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Let me be clear that Ireland is fully supportive of the principles of this directive. It will increase the number of workers covered by collective bargaining, and that is something with which we agree. It is important to remember that, even without this directive, Ireland has one of the highest minimum wage rates in the EU. Article 4 of the directive is specific to collective bargaining in terms of workers and wages. Ireland is a leader on that front, given the Low Pay Commission and the work it does in informing us on national minimum wage rates and the living wage. Ireland has public sector pay agreements, which are achieved through negotiation. The directive requires us to set out an action plan for increasing collective bargaining. That is something we will do.

There are two deadlines, the first of which is the transposition deadline of November 2024 and the second of which is the action plan deadline of the end of 2025. These are deadlines that we will meet.

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