Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)

I am impressed to hear the amount of credentials and the trade union members elected here, but unlike many of my colleagues I have never been a member of a trade union. I was employed while in college in the United Kingdom doing basic work behind bars and the rest of it. I never had an opportunity to join a trade union. I was self-employed. I ran bars and restaurants in Spain. I did not have an opportunity to get involved. I think I was a good employer as well. I then worked for a multinational company. I value the work of trade unions and I believe trade unions are an integral part of large organisations in particular. We can look at Dunnes Stores and hear the stories Deputy Coppinger spoke about and they are true. I have to commend Deputy Coppinger on the comments she made in the House today. I think they were fair and accurate, in particular when she spoke about how workers in Debenhams were let down by their trade union. I commend her on bringing that up in the House. I see the importance not only of money in the work trade unions do. It is also about the continuous bullying that goes on in a workplace. If you do not have the trade unions behind you, or if you do not have somebody to go to, it is very difficult and the workplace can be a lonely place. I do not think we put enough emphasis on the work trade unions do in sorting out, not big industrial actions, but the small negotiations and conversations between the union rep - the person on the ground - and the management team and getting cohesion before it ever escalates. That is work that goes unseen. That is work that is beneficial to the running of an organisation and to keeping an organisation happy.

When you look at mainland Europe, we are miles behind equity when it comes to trade unions. Look at what is happening right across Europe. You see the workers' rights there, particularly around bullying in the workplace. On the living wage and pension auto-enrolment, I understand why the Government has rowed back on that. I get it because it is difficult for businesses. It is difficult with tariffs coming down the line, but that should not be happening at the expense of the worker, at the expense of the person on the ground.

As has been mentioned in this House, there are many people working day in, day out doing everything right, but living below the bread line. We see every day in our shopping basket how difficult it is to make ends meet. Government has to stand up and take notice. It has to listen.

There is a tremendous amount of merit in this Bill. There are positives in this Bill. The Minister spoke about PRSI and tips and movement on that, which is important to note because I do not understand. I can hand over cash to somebody, for instance, a €50 tip, in a restaurant in Dublin tonight, or in Cork, but most of us are now tapping. That is the reality of life. That then has to go through the system. PRSI has to be paid on that. All the accounting has to be done on that if the worker gets it, so the €50 is no longer €50. However, if you hand over cash there is an exemption in the law already. Things like that need to be recognised and regulated. I commend my colleagues in the House on bringing this Bill through. I ask Government to look at it again and not to object to it for the sake of objecting because it is coming from this side of the House. There is a lot of merit in this.

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