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

I will take that as a "No" for the moment. I am sure the Minister of State is aware that one in five workers in Ireland, over 420,000 people, are classified as low paid. More than 345,000 workers earn less than the living wage. Workers here work longer hours and have fewer days off than the European Union average. Last year, the WRC found that employment law was broken in every second investigation that they concluded. There is absolutely no doubt about it. Workers need the right to organise. They need the protection of their unions. The Minister of State will find that where workers are represented by a trade union, this is reflected in decent terms and conditions of employment. The six legislative asks, which I note the Minister of State is not committing to this morning, provide protections for workers who are trying to get organised. Clearly there is an issue with regard to workers needing that protection; otherwise, the trade unions would not be campaigning for it. As I have said, Sinn Féin is committed to delivering the right to organise, to include those protections for workers because they are very badly needed.

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