Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I thank all the Deputies for their contributions today. It is an honour to stand before the House on International Workers' Day, a day dedicated to recognising the invaluable contribution of workers across Ireland and the world. As Minister of State with responsibility for small business and retail, I acknowledge and celebrate the hard work, dedication and resilience of our workforce, which forms the backbone of our economy and society and is the core of Ireland's competitiveness.

Ireland's stable industrial relations climate and low levels of industrial unrest provide certainty for both domestic and international businesses investing in Ireland, making us a competitive and attractive place in which to work and invest. The programme for Government sets out a strong commitment to economic and employment growth and competitiveness. The Government is committed to supporting workers by recognising the work of the independent Low Pay Commission, supporting the central role of the Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court, improving the employment of people with disabilities, promoting flexible working conditions and arrangements, and also publishing an action plan for collective bargaining.

The Minister, Deputy Burke, has previously outlined a number of improvements to employment rights that the Government continues to make. My Department has already started a body of work to fulfil our commitments under the programme for Government. The Minister, Deputy Burke, and I are advancing legislation to protect older workers who have a contractual retirement age below the State pension age. The employment contractual retirement age Bill 2025 will allow, but in no way compel, an employee to stay in employment until the State pension age of 66. The Bill implements a commitment included in the Government's response to the Pension Commission's recommendations and implementation plan. An employee who consents to retire at their contractual retirement age can still do so. This element of consent reflects the fact that many employees may want to retire at the contractual retirement age.

The Government's wider objectives are to make the pensions system sustainable in the face of significant demographic change and to improve the adequacy and predictability of retirement income. One of the key objectives of this Bill is to bridge the income gap experienced by people who are required to retire at an age which is lower than the age at which they can access the State pension. The Bill contains limited exemptions, including retirement age set by law, and allows employer to objectively justify the application of the retirement age by reference to the individual employee.

I am very mindful of ensuring both employers and employees have the time to get to grips with this new employment right. That is why I am committed to ensuring that there is an appropriate lead-in time and information campaign on the new right following the Bill's enactment. The Bill completed Second Stage in the Dáil in early April and I hope the Dáil and Seanad will move ahead to enact it in the coming months.

Remote working has also become a new norm for many employers and employees in the wake of the pandemic. The right to request a remote working arrangement was commenced under the work-life balance Act in March of last year. My Department will review the operation of the remote working provisions of the Act later this year as required by the legislation. The work-life balance Act also requires a review of the flexible working provisions of the Act currently available to parents and carers.

This part of the Act is under the remit of the Department of children, disability and equality.

The protection of employees Bill 2025 will ensure workers of employers which cease trading without formally winding up will be able to recover moneys owed to them from the insolvency payment scheme. The Minister, Deputy Burke, spoke earlier about the legislation introduced in July last year, providing for the establishment of the Employment Law Review Group, ELRG. It was convened at its inaugural plenary meeting last March. Its work programme, which was determined by the Minister, in consultation with the ELRG has been published on the Department's website. It contains three items which the ELRG will review, namely the determination of employment status, a review of the Unfair Dismissals Act and a review of notice periods in the minimum notice of the terms of the Employment Act 1973. I was pleased to meet the group at its inaugural meeting earlier this year and wish Professor Michael Doherty the very best in his work, along with all of its members, in progressing the this important work.

A strong and well-functioning collective bargaining system is an important element in the economy. It supports and promotes fair wages, in particular in low-paid sectors. A number of Deputies have raised this topic today. Collective bargaining agreements also play a positive role in increasing productivity for businesses that promote the protection of industrial harmony, which is crucial to our economy.

Officials in my Department are working to develop an action plan to promote collective bargaining which, under the EU directive on adequate minimum wages, must be submitted to the EU Commission by November of this year. The Minister, Deputy Burke, recently announced the launch of a public consultation to obtain the views of interested stakeholders on the content of the action plan and we want to ensure that the working conditions of young people are fair and appropriate. Therefore, my Department has launched a public consultation on the proposal to extend the late working hour exemption for young persons to unlicensed premises so that they fully align with those provided for in the regulations for licensed premises under the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996.

We will also see developments such as the implementation of the EU pay and transparency directive and the introduction of a pension auto enrolment system, which is a commitment in the programme for Government and a key priority for the Minister for Social Protection. Every worker in Ireland is entitled to a safe working environment and every employer is legally obliged to provide a safe working environment. There is a strong legislative regime in Ireland to underpin that obligation and protect workers in terms of work-related health and safety.

I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge the great work undertaken by the Health and Safety Authority, HSA. I had the pleasure of meeting its chair, CEO and board members yesterday to discuss how they support employers in Ireland. My Department is collaborating with the Department on the upcoming national disability strategy and we will continue to facilitate ongoing dialogue between disabled people's organisations and employer representatives to fully support the employment of people with disabilities.

The Government has shown continued commitment to strengthening and protecting workers' conditions, fair treatment and fair wages for workers. However, as Minister of State with responsibility for small businesses and retail, I know it is also important that we acknowledge the challenges the enterprise sector has faced over the past number of years. We are conscious of the impact of these measures on businesses, in particular as they are managing rising prices, supply chain issues and the increasing need to adapt to a digital and climate transition.

My Department carried out assessments on the impact of legislative changes, including a statutory review, published in March 2024, of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Act. Most recently, we carried out research on the impact of the statutory sick leave provisions.

It is clear that over the past few years the Government has taken significant and proactive steps to improve employment rights, provide additional protection and establish better working conditions for workers. These initiatives, as well as numerous upcoming developments in 2025 and beyond, underscore the dedication of the Government to fostering a fairer and more transparent workplace and supporting the workers of Ireland. On International Workers' Day, let us celebrate the crucial role the Irish workforce plays in our nation's competitiveness and success.

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