Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

I absolutely agree that quality jobs are so important in our economy. I think this will be one of the areas we will focus on during our Presidency of the EU in the second half of next year. That will give us a key opportunity. We must remember that in the action plan and under the adequate minimum wage directive, MEPs from my party, including Regina Doherty and others, played a huge role in really working on that directive and getting agreement in the European Parliament. We are, therefore, very keen to try to bring forward the best possible plan that we can. When our EU Presidency term does come, we are also very keen to focus on high-quality work, because this is what our economy should be about. This is why we are very focused on it at all times. I have been part of the past number of Governments and I know the huge improvements we have had for lower-paid workers. That must be acknowledged. When people challenge us on what areas there have been improvements in, it must be acknowledged we have banned zero-hour contracts, which were totally wrong, brought in tips legislation to protect vulnerable workers and we now have a sick pay scheme. Additionally, we have auto-enrolment, which will future-proof people and their retirement plans. The State will be stepping up to the mark over the next number of years. Those are key improvements in the economy, including watching out for lower-paid workers, while also trying to enhance the capacity to get more high-quality jobs into the country, because this will be critical for us all to realise our ambitions in life.

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