Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left)
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5. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his plans to introduce legislation to outlaw zero hours and minimum hour contracts. [18469/15]

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left)
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The recent strike at Dunnes Stores has highlighted the problem of low-hours contracts and precarious employment. Would the Minister be prepared to take action to stop this growing culture of extreme exploitation? When is the legislation from the Low Pay Commission going to be brought into the Dáil? We know that the State is now subsidising 40,000 working families with the family income supplement because their wages are so low. It is also covering 90,000 children.

Will the Minister of State give a clear indication of when we will have that legislation in the Dáil?

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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In accordance with the statement of Government priorities from the Tánaiste and Taoiseach last July, last February I commissioned the University of Limerick, UL, to carry out a study into the prevalence of zero-hour and low-hour contracts and the impact of such contracts on employees. The appointment of UL follows a competitive tendering process. The key objectives of the study are to fill the gap in knowledge that currently exists in terms of the hard data and information that is available concerning the prevalence of zero-hour and low-hour contracts in the Irish economy and the manner of their use; to assess the impact of zero-hour and low-hour contracts on employees; and to enable the Minister to make any evidence-based policy recommendations to Government considered necessary on foot of the study.

The study has a broad scope, covering both the public and private sectors, with a particular focus on retail, hospitality, education and health. The study will examine how zero- and low-hour contracts operate in practice and how they impact on employees. It will assess the advantages and disadvantages from the perspective of employer and employee and assess the current employment rights legislation as it applies to employees on such contracts. The study will also consider recent developments in other jurisdictions, particularly the UK. The study may also identify how the information gap might be addressed in the future to assist policy-making.

A wide range of stakeholders is being canvassed to contribute to the study and I expect the study to be completed in Q3. The Deputy will appreciate that I cannot anticipate the outcome of the study or the Government’s consideration of the study’s findings in advance of receiving that report. However, the Deputy can rest assured that where the evidence points to some adjustment being required to the protections already in place under Irish employment law, I will bring these forward for consideration by the Government.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left)
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When does the Minister of State think that legislation will be brought through and the report will be finished and presented to us in the Dáil? The workers have gone on strike for a day already in Dunnes Stores because of their pay and conditions. There will also be a demonstration on 6 June. Dunnes Stores has agreed to increase wages by 3% and bring in four-week rotas, which is a step forward and has resulted from the pressure put by workers and the support they got. However, we also know there has been huge intimidation. Some 20 workers have lost their jobs, some workers have been taken from their positions and put onto tills because of the action they took and for some workers there is no point in having a 3% increase if their 20 hours are reduced to 15 hours because they will lose out in any event. These issues must be dealt with urgently. There will be more disputes if the Government does not bring in the relevant legislation to protect workers and give trade unions the right to represent those workers in a robust way which will protect them.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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I hope Deputy Collins will welcome the collective bargaining legislation the Minister, Deputy Bruton, and I have been working on for some time now and which will be published shortly and made available to all Deputies. I look forward to her input on that because that is about levelling the playing field and trying to create a fairer future in the workplace. We can discuss issues around relatively modest pay increases for workers across the economy and so on, but this, and the suite of industrial relations legislation we have been working on for some time, is about trying to ensure there is a more level playing field that can transform the dynamic of industrial relations in this country and achieve the kind of things to which Deputy Collins is referring.

There may be some confusion about the role of the low pay commission in regard to zero-hour contracts. There is a zero-hour contracts study going on at the moment, but the low pay commission was established on an interim basis a few months ago, and will be set up on a statutory basis, primarily to look at issues relating to the annual rate of the national minimum wage, although it will also be looking at other issues. I assure Deputy Collins that I am concerned to see the rise of insecure work in any format. This is an international phenomenon and this study, which we have commissioned, is the first major study of its kind, which should give us very useful information regarding the reality on the ground and what the Government can do to ensure a fairer workplace.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left)
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I welcome collective bargaining legislation and trade union recognition. That has been long awaited by workers across the State. We know the problems would be access to workers in their workplace. Those issues must be addressed because they are situations workers are facing at the moment. The State is subsidising big, profitable companies with a great deal of money through family income supplement. It was €224 million in 2012, €280 million in 2014 and it will be more when more people know they can access this. This is because these workers do not have enough money to live on, which the State deems they should have. Big companies, which are making huge profits, are benefiting from taxpayers subsidising workers' pay. It is crucial that zero-hours contracts be dealt with. The ratio of people in full-time work to those in part-time work was about 80:20 a few years ago and has now reversed, to 20:80. It is an issue that needs to be addressed and workers must take that action to get those positions.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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I thank Deputy Collins for her interest in this area. It is, however, important to acknowledge the point that the Minister, Deputy Bruton, made earlier, namely, that we have seen huge growth in full-time employment in this country over the last 12-18 months in particular, which is borne out by CSO data. The vast majority of jobs created are full-time jobs created by hard-working businesses which are contributing to this economy. I very much look forward to the findings of this report being made available to me and I assure the House that we will act where required to ensure that people's rights are protected and that their dignity at work is vindicated.