Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

recognises that the ongoing cost-of-living crisis is putting significant pressure on workers and their families as inflation continues to increase, eroding living standards and affordability for workers;

notes that: — overall employment figures mask that one quarter of jobs in Ireland are considered "poor quality", characterised by low pay, insecurity, and poor working conditions;

— the findings of the 2026 Ireland Thinks poll, commissioned by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), found that 52 per cent of workers do not believe they are paid fairly for the work that they do, and the figure is higher for women and people on lower incomes; and

— according to the Working In Ireland Survey 2026, 44 per cent of workers in Ireland that are not currently in a union would like to join one; further notes that Ireland is an outlier in the European Union (EU), in not providing workers a statutory right to collective bargaining, and lags behind other EU member states in respect of paid statutory annual leave;

acknowledges: — the ICTU "Quality Employment and Good Jobs: The first steps to a new economic model" policy document; and

— that the Northern Ireland Minister for the Economy, Caoimhe Archibald MLA, is currently proposing a good jobs Bill in the Northern Ireland Assembly, which represents the most significant piece of workers' rights legislation since devolution, and the European Commission is proposing a quality jobs roadmap; affirms that trade union membership and collective bargaining have been shown to increase pay, productivity and employee retention, as well as having positive macroeconomic benefits;

condemns that, despite strong economic growth, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Government Independents have rowed back on previous pledges to increase the statutory sick pay, and has delayed the move to a living wage until 2029; and

calls on the Government to: — provide a legal right to collective bargaining through a union;

— provide unions with legal access to the workplace;

— bring the minimum wage into line with the living wage, and reverse the decision to delay its introduction until 2029; and

— increase access to flexible and remote working arrangements for employees.

I welcome the opportunity this evening during Trade Union Week to bring forward Sinn Féin's motion on strengthening workers' rights. I was delighted to work alongside colleagues from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on this motion and to host their representatives in the audiovisual room earlier today for a briefing on their quality employment and good jobs policy document. That was Owen Reidy, Neil McGowan from SIPTU, and John Regan, the chair of the Meath Council of Trade Unions, along with my former Seanad colleague, Paul Gavan.

I want to welcome members from the trade union movement to the Public Gallery to follow tonight's debate. I acknowledge all the great work that has been done in that area, including to create a new, sustainable, economic model that meets many of the challenges we are facing today and that will bring us to a better future.

The purpose of this motion is twofold: to support workers through this cost-of-living crisis and to increase collective bargaining coverage across Ireland. The reality facing workers is becoming increasingly difficult. Workers have never worked so hard and struggled so much. Across the country, people are doing everything right: working long hours, contributing to their communities and keeping our economy moving yet still finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. Despite strong economic growth and the prospect of even larger budget surpluses this year, far too many workers are being left behind. Wages are being steadily eroded by soaring fuel costs, rising energy bills and everyday expenses that continue to climb.

The cost-of-living crisis has not gone away. It is persistent and placing enormous pressure on working people and their families. Workers are putting in more effort than ever before yet many feel undervalued and underpaid, and they are right. The Government's decision to delay the introduction of the living wage until 2029 sends an entirely wrong signal to workers. It tells them that their struggles can wait, but workers cannot wait and their families cannot wait. Relief is needed now, not years down the line. The delay is simply not acceptable.

We must look beyond headline employment figures. While employment levels may appear strong, they mask a deeper and more troubling reality. One in four jobs in Ireland is considered low-quality, characterised by low pay, insecurity and poor conditions. This is not good enough. Unions will tell you how poor job quality leads to burnout, ill-health and lower productivity. Fair pay, progression options, predictable hours, training opportunities, a voice in the workplace and a strong work-life balance all lead to greater productivity and improve competitiveness. Workers must be paid fairly, young and old, and across every sector. The evidence is clear. The 2026 Ireland Thinks poll commissioned by ICTU found that 52% of workers did not believe they were paid fairly for the work they did. That figure cannot be ignored.

Ireland continues to lag behind much of the European Union when it comes to workers' rights, particularly in relation to collective bargaining coverage. Only around one third of workers are currently covered, leaving far too many without a meaningful voice in their workplace. Recent announcements of potential job cuts at Facebook and Covalen serve as a stark reminder of how vulnerable workers can be without strong union protections. Strengthening collective bargaining is not just about fairness, but also delivering better pay, better conditions and a stronger, more productive economy.

That is why Sinn Féin is bringing forward this motion. The motion calls on the Government to reverse the delay of the national living wage, to legislate for a legal right to collective bargaining through trade unions and, above all, to ensure that unions have legal access to workplaces. I am sick and tired of workers telling me that they have to meet in cafés and places where they will not be known to discuss their workers' rights with unions. The motion also calls for the expansion of access to flexible and remote working arrangements, supporting a better work-life balance and reducing costs for workers. These are practical and achievable measures that would make a real difference in people's lives. This motion reflects the growing frustration among workers but also reflects a clear and constructive path forward.

Today was an opportunity for us in this House to listen to unions and act on behalf of workers. Instead, the Government has produced an amendment that ignores all our calls, points the finger of blame elsewhere and will fail to deliver meaningful improvements to collective bargaining coverage across this country.

I commend my colleague in the North, Caoimhe Archibald, for the good jobs Bill. We need to have uniformity across the island for what we are trying to achieve here.

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome all the unions in the Gallery today and thank them for their ongoing work in standing up for workers' rights. I acknowledge the Northern Ireland Minister for the economy, Sinn Féin's Caoimhe Archibald MLA, who is currently proposing a good jobs Bill in the North of Ireland, which represents the most significant workers' rights legislation.

As we approach May Day, we are reminded that this is not just a moment of reflection, but a call to action and a time to reaffirm our commitment to securing workers' rights fit for the 21st century. Workers are the backbone of our society, yet here we are in 2026 when the State is awash with money but thousands of workers feel undervalued, underpaid and overlooked. They are working harder than ever but struggling more than ever as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite in housing, groceries, childcare and healthcare. We believe it is essential to legislate to give workers and the trade unions the legal right to organise and to deliver a legal right to collective bargaining. The Government needs to provide that right to collective bargaining through a union and provide unions with legal access to the workplace. A figure of 52% of Government TDs supported a pledge for collective bargaining before the last general election, including the Minister, Deputy Burke. It reminds me of Pat Rabbitte saying that that is what you do during elections, namely, make promises.

While we are talking about workers' rights, we need to look at the rights of workers here in Leinster House, such as the Oireachtas broadcast workers and how unfairly they are being treated while being denied employment protections. I have previously highlighted the poor conditions under which Oireachtas broadcasting staff operate. They are paid a pittance, denied employment protections and forced to rely on social welfare when the Oireachtas is not sitting. They must go from the Dáil to the dole when the House is in recess.

If this debate is truly about fairness, dignity and workers' rights, then we must also address the complete neglect of young workers. I want to acknowledge the concerns raised by the National Youth Council of Ireland. It has made it clear that young people are being left behind. Young workers starting off face the same cost-of-living pressure such as rent, insecure jobs, and higher insurance costs, hitting over €2,000 in a lot of cases. This is another cost that the Government has failed to get on top of.

We have seen good, decent people protest recently to stand up against the cost of living during the fuel protests. Instead of being on the side of workers - the very people who keep this country running - threats were issued by Ministers who chose escalation over talks. We need the minimum wage in line with the living wage. Further delays until 2029 should be scrapped and it should happen now.

A figure of 52% of workers do not believe they are fairly paid for the work they do, and the figure is higher for women and people on lower incomes. Workers deserve fair pay for the work they do and safe working conditions. They deserve protections so that if they highlight health and safety issues, they will not be penalised and lose their jobs. Just today, one worker contacted our office and stated how many workers in the workplace were afraid to join their union, SIPTU, for fear of losing their jobs.

It is time this Government stood up for all workers in Ireland and supported this legislation, which will enhance workers' rights.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleagues, Deputies Conway-Walsh and Guirke, for bringing forward this motion this evening. I also want to welcome some of my former colleagues, friends of mine and, indeed, brothers and sisters in the Public Gallery. I will take this opportunity to wish the Leas Ceann Comhairle, everyone here and beyond a happy May Day for next Friday.

Next Friday, I will join my dad, who was a union official, and we will march in the Dublin Council of Trade Unions' May Day march, as we have done every May Day. I do not think I have ever missed one and I highly doubt my dad has missed one either. As we march, we will remember my mam, who was a very dedicated and committed trade unionist for all of her life. She believed in the power of the unions. She understood the power of collective effort. She understood that we were stronger together, stronger against this anti-worker Government.

7 o’clock

We all know the best way for workers to protect or enhance their terms and conditions of employment is not just to join their trade union but to be active in their trade union. It is not our job as legislators to organise workers, that job falls to the people in the Gallery, but it is our job as legislators to create those conditions and that is exactly what this motion attempts to do. The Government’s countermotion is shameless and the Minister knows it is. He is shameless to come in here and try to propose it, but sure, of course, that is what he does.

There is a reason Covalen does not recognise the Communication Workers Union, CWU. The main reason is because it does not have to. The fact that the company does not puts its workers at a disadvantage. When workers look around and wonder who is in their corner, their union is in their corner, the ICTU is in their corner and Sinn Féin is in their corner, but the Government is on the opposite side. There is a reason those workers cannot get recognition and that is because the Government simply will not act.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As we move towards May Day, we recognise the proud tradition of the trade union movement and all those women and men who have served, joined and organised. As working-class people, we know that every time our class, the workers, has made an advance and a gain, it is because they struggled, fought for it and stood up and were counted.

I am very proud to come from Waterford, a county and a city imbued with a strong trade union tradition. I have been a member of a trade union since I was a teenager. It was Mandate first and then the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union, ATGWU, now UNITE the Union. I am still very proud to be a member of the Dungarvan branch of UNITE the Union.

Workers today are under sustained pressure from a deepening cost of living crisis and, in that context, it is even worse that the Government is trying to delay, prevaricate and hold back progress on workers’ rights, so that trade unions, those people who workers select and elect to stand up for them in the workplace, are not even allowed to get into the workplace to make representations on their behalf and to meet workers to increase union density. This is the Government taking a side. It is taking the side it has always taken, that is, the side of the bosses. We have seen it when it comes to the Debenhams workers in Waterford and across the State. We have seen it when it comes to workers in all types of sectors, whether they are working in retail, in an abattoir, on a factory floor, as a winch operator on a search-and-rescue aircraft serving this State or as a special needs assistant, SNA, it does not really matter. The Government seems to have the approach that it is always about holding them back, holding back progress and frustrating the trade union movement and its ability to do its work and to stand up for workers.

It has already been said, but the countermotion put forward by the Government is shameful. Sadly, though, it is not shocking and not surprising. At the end of this week, on May Day, as workers reflect on who has their backs, they know it is their trade union and us Sinn Féin members and others in the Opposition. They know it quite clearly because they see both sides of the equation. They see the increasing costs and increasingly difficult nature of life and getting by, for workers and families. They also see the other side of things, where going to work is becoming more and more difficult for those who want to have dignity and fairness in the workplace. This situation is being made more difficult by the Minister and his Government.

Joanna Byrne (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I never imagined that I, as a first-time TD, would still need to speak about workers’ rights, rates of pay and fairness in employment. The phrase, “a decent day’s pay for an honest day’s work”, should have been long retired before 2026. This debate, which should not even be a debate, has been around since before I was born and before my parents and grandparents were born. The points being raised here are the same points raised for decades, with just a few modern adjustments, such as the right to remote work.

However, we have to remember who has been in Government all that time. It is crazy to think that the Government parties have commemorated the 1913 Dublin Lockout and lauded the bravery of the workers taking on the big businesses, but 113 years later, it is still denying the workers trade union rights. This is why this motion has been brought in co-ordination with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, reflecting Sinn Féin’s ongoing engagement with the trade union movement and as part of Sinn Féin’s broader campaign to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and to strengthen workers’ rights and collective bargaining.

There are a lot of jobs, but one in four jobs is low paid, insecure or lacking in decent conditions. The fear these workers have - and I ask the Minister to get it into his head that they are workers - is not a feeling that anyone in this State should be experiencing in this supposedly wealthy country in 2026. It is easy to have a budget surplus if money is not spent adequately and efficiently to resolve the problems in the country.

Workers deserve fair pay, secure jobs and a stronger voice in the workplace. I doubt that even the do-nothing Government’s spokespeople could have a counter-argument for that point. To support workers to organise and facilitate greater trade union membership, Sinn Féin and the trade unions are calling on the Government to provide a legal right to collective bargaining through a union and to introduce a right for trade unions to access workplaces. The countermotion is an absolute insult to every worker right around this nation and I urge the Minister to listen to the contributions tonight, reflect on them and withdraw it.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The cost-of-living crisis is putting significant pressure on workers and families. Bills are rising, rents are soaring and wages are simply not keeping pace. While employment figures are often hailed as good news, they only tell part of the story, because behind those headline numbers is a reality this Government refuses to face. One quarter of jobs in Ireland are considered poor quality, characterised by low pay, insecurity and poor working conditions. That is not a success; that is a failure of political choices, and workers know that. That is why 44% of workers in Ireland who are not currently in a union say they would like to join one. They understand that collective strength is the only real protection against exploitation. Trade union membership has for many years been proven to deliver better pay, better conditions and dignity at work.

Let me bring this beyond statistics, though, to what it means for real lives. I have been contacted by carers in County Clare struggling with the cost of living. County Clare is predominantly rural, so one carer, Jean, travels 44 km between one client and the next. She has no choice but to put fuel in her car, or her clients will be without care. Yet Jean is now at the point where she can barely afford to go to work, never mind work, and she is living pay cheque to pay cheque. Others have told me they are having to borrow money during the week just to make it to their next payday. This is not just difficult; it is completely unsustainable. It means that if something goes wrong, such as a much-needed car breaks down or medical issues arise, there is no safety net, no contingency fund, and this is the reality for far too many workers.

In fact, workers are worse off today than they were at the start of 2022, and were forgotten about in the last budget by the Minister’s Government. We see the same pattern when we look at apprentices. We are being told by apprentices themselves that the supports available to them are not fit for purpose. I have met many apprentices and through our work on the relevant committee we have heard consistently that being paid well below the minimum wage acts as a barrier to participation. It pushes people out. Apprentices are leaving their training to take up better-paid jobs just to survive, or they are leaving the country, their home, altogether for a better life elsewhere. At the very same time, we are told we need more apprentices in construction. The situation simply does not add up. The Connect trade union has rightly described the situation as poverty pay.

I am asking whose side the Government is on. Sinn Féin stands firmly on the side of workers. In case the Minister asks about the North, Caoimhe Archibald is introducing a good jobs employment rights Bill to significantly enhance workers’ rights. We believe work must pay and that nobody who goes out to earn a living should be forced into hardship. Workers built this economy and sustain it every day. It is time they are treated with the respect and protection they deserve.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I too want to welcome our union representatives in the Gallery and commend them for the work they do, day in and day out, representing workers across the country.

Workers are tired. They are tired of hearing that the economy is thriving while they struggle from week to week. The Government boasts about growth in exports and record employment, but workers cannot pay sky-high bills or meet the rising fuel costs with GDP figures, and nor can they buy groceries with headlines about surpluses.

The reality is that for the last number of weeks, the Government has fallen over itself to tell the good and great that the fuel allowance has been extended to over 50,000 working families who rely on the working family payment. If work paid properly, however, then families would not need the State to top up their wages. Inequality is not spread evenly. In Longford-Westmeath, disposable income is between 15% and 25% below average. This means that workers in my area, which is also the Minister’s area, are being asked to cope on lower incomes while they face the same rising costs for food, energy, childcare and housing as everybody else.

When this Government delays the living wage until 2029, who does the Government think is carrying that burden? It is not those at the top; it is the workers in counties like Longford and Westmeath and families already stretched to the limit. Over half of workers say they are not paid fairly. One in four jobs is classed as poor quality. Nearly half of non-union workers say they would join a union if they could. Workers should have the legal right to collective bargaining, union access to workplaces, a living wage and stronger rights to flexible and remote working. The Government should stop pretending that national growth figures mean everybody is prospering; they are not. They certainly are not in Longford and they certainly are not in Westmeath and nor are any of those 50,000 families relying on State wage supports.

If the Government truly believes in rewarding work, it is time to prove it. I ask the Minister to withdraw his amendment and support this motion, workers, and fair pay.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"recognises that:

— Ireland has experienced significant global inflationary pressures arising from international shocks, including energy price volatility, supply chain disruption and geopolitical instability, which have increased pressures on households and businesses; and

— protecting jobs, sustaining economic competitiveness, and supporting living standards must be progressed in a balanced and sustainable manner;

notes that:

— Ireland continues to maintain near full employment, with historically high labour force participation and rising average earnings across the economy;

— the Government has introduced a comprehensive and record series of cost of living supports in recent years, targeted at workers on low and middle incomes, including reductions in Income Tax, increases in tax credits, and enhanced social protections;

— while some countries awaited the outcome of proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union on the Adequate Minimum Wages Directive, the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment remained committed to progressing and delivering the Action Plan to Promote Collective Bargaining 2026-2030 (the Plan), irrespective of the Court's decision, and fulfilled that commitment;

— implementation of the Plan in Ireland is well underway, with 22 actions to be delivered over the duration 2026–2030, a technical sub-group of Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, consisting of Department officials and social partners are overseeing the implementation process, with a robust monitoring framework in place, including a mid-term review scheduled for 2028, this phased and responsive approach will ensure the continued relevance of the Plan in the context of evolving labour market conditions and the collective bargaining landscape;

— Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights protections which have been significantly enhanced in recent years, including through the introduction of statutory sick pay, the right to request remote and flexible work, a new public holiday, protections for tips and gratuities, enhanced parental and carers' leave, and regular increases to the national minimum wage; and

— the statutory minimum wage has increased consistently under successive Governments and is set according to the transparent and evidence-based recommendations of the Low Pay Commission;

acknowledges that:

— social dialogue remains the cornerstone of Ireland's industrial relations framework;

— trade unions, employers and the State all have an important role to play in maintaining constructive industrial relations, promoting productivity, and supporting sustainable wage growth;

— ongoing consultation at European Union (EU) level, including discussions on a Quality Jobs Roadmap, provides an opportunity to share best practice and learn from other member states;

— a strong economy is essential to funding public services, sustaining employment, and enabling continued improvements in workers' rights and living standards; and

— changes to employment law must be carefully calibrated to protect workers while avoiding unintended consequences for small and medium sized enterprises, competitiveness, and job creation; and

reaffirms our commitment to:

— advancing measures to strengthen collective bargaining participation in line with EU obligations, while respecting Ireland's voluntary industrial relations tradition;

— supporting flexible and remote working through existing legislative frameworks and guidance, balancing employee needs with operational requirements of employers;

— engaging with trade unions, employers and stakeholders including through LEEF, the Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court to promote high quality, secure and productive employment; and

— keep the adequacy of the minimum wage under ongoing review through the Low Pay Commission, with the objective of improving living standards while safeguarding jobs.".

Recent action by this Government has resulted in improved conditions for workers, and we have driven many positive and progressive changes over the past few years. I wish to take the opportunity to speak about some of these this evening.

First, I must point out that there is no constitutional or legal impediment which prevents parties who wish to exercise their right to collectively bargain from freely doing so in Ireland. There is an extensive range of statutory provisions designed to back up the voluntary bargaining process. Ireland’s action plan to promote collective bargaining, launched in November 2025, demonstrates the Government’s clear commitment to strengthening the industrial relations framework and improving the quality of working life. Implementation of the action plan is well under way and is overseen by a technical subgroup of LEEF, consisting of officials from the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and the social partners. The subgroup meets on a regular basis to provide structured oversight, monitor progress and ensure the phased implementation of actions in a manner that remains responsive to emerging issues and stakeholder feedback. This governance arrangement supports effective delivery of the action plan while maintaining flexibility to adapt to evolving labour market and policy priorities.

At the heart of the plan are 22 targeted actions across five strategic pillars. These focus on strengthening the evidence-base for collective bargaining, building capacity and awareness, promoting good collective bargaining practices, protecting existing rights and reinforcing the key institutions which support our industrial relations system. A mid-term review in 2028 will allow us to assess progress and ensure the action plan remains responsive to a changing and dynamic labour market. Officials in my Department have initiated discussions with the Office of Government Procurement to determine practical steps for implementing a pilot project, which would examine the incorporation of collectively bargained agreements as a weighting factor in public procurement processes. Progress is also under way to identify and reward best-practices by employers in the space of collective bargaining.

There has been a significant and lasting shift in attitudes towards remote working in recent years. Central Statistics Office data shows that almost 1 million people were working from home, either usually or sometimes, in the fourth quarter of 2025. That figure has remained broadly stable since the pandemic. Recognising the changing dynamics of the workplace, the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 provided all workers the right to request remote working in March 2024. Ireland was among the first in the EU to introduce a right to request remote working. The legislation is accompanied by a code of practice which provides guidance for employers and employees on how to comply with this legislation.

My Department just recently concluded a statutory review of the operation of the right to request remote working legislation and a report of the review was laid before the Houses on 5 March this year. The findings of the review were informed by a nationally representative survey; a public consultation which received more than 8,000 responses; and engagement with the Workplace Relations Commission, employer and employee representatives and the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality. The review found that when used, the legislation works effectively. Some 94% of requests are approved either fully or partially, demonstrating that the legislation can facilitate compromise. The reported level of administrative burden is also low.

However, a key finding is that the challenge is awareness, with fewer than half of employees being aware of their right to request remote working. To address this finding and others identified by the review, the Department will implement recommendations from it, including a national information campaign to drive awareness and encourage increased use of the legislation. We will also request the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, to revise the code of practice to support use of the legislation. These actions complement the range of measures the Government is undertaking to facilitate and encourage uptake of remote and flexible working, including the code of practice and the right to disconnect, the tax deduction for home working, which was placed on a statutory basis in January 2022, the national hub network, which has been underpinned by significant Government investment, and the completion of the installation of high-speed fibre broadband. These measures are accompanied by supports for flexible working, including the revised code of practice on access to part-time working, which was signed into law in January this year. The revised code was prepared by the WRC in consultation with the social partners. The updated code provides practical guidance to help employers and employees agree part-time arrangements which support flexible and modern workplaces.

Irish employment rights legislation has also been progressive in terms of prohibiting zero-hour contracts in most cases and the provision of banded hours to enable workers to obtain more secure and predictable working hours. These provisions were introduced in 2018 through the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, amending the Organisation of Working Time Act. Under the Act, zero-hour contracts are largely prohibited, except for genuine casual or emergency work. Where zero-hour contracts are permitted, employees are entitled to compensation if required to be available but not given work. The Act also provides for a right for an employee whose contract of employment does not reflect the reality of the hours they normally work. An employee who believes their contract does not reflect the hours they have consistently worked over the previous 12 months of service may request to be placed on a band of hours that better reflects the hours they have worked regularly. These provisions significantly improve the predictability and security of working hours for employees.

The introduction of statutory sick leave in January 2023, marked a key policy development for Ireland. For the first time, employees received a statutory right to employer-paid sick leave. It gives workers an income protection for up to five days in the calendar year should they be unfit for work, paid at 70% of gross earnings, up to a daily cap of €110. That provides a crucial safety net to workers who become ill. It again underscores the Government’s commitment to progressive employment law and the protection, welfare, and well-being of Ireland's workforce. Originally three days, the entitlement was increased to five days in 2024. Since the introduction of the Sick Leave Act in 2023 and the subsequent increase in entitlement to sick leave to five days in 2024, business owners and representative organisations, particularly in the retail and hospitality sectors, have consistently raised concerns about the cumulative impact of such regulatory measures in the light of rising labour, input and energy costs. Research conducted by the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service, IGEES, along with officials in this Department show that firms in the retail, accommodation and food services sectors would likely to have been more affected if the statutory sick leave entitlement increased from five days to seven days. The research was published on the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment website on Monday, 14 April. On the basis of this research, I made the decision that five days sick leave strikes the right balance. It gives workers income protection for five days, after which illness benefit is there to support them.

Turning to the introduction of the living wage, I wish to make clear at the outset that the Government remains fully committed to ensuring fair wages for low-paid workers in our economy, and I also highlight the real progress we have made in raising the national minimum wage in recent years, by way of substantial increases.

Since 2020, the national minimum wage has increased by 40%, from €10.10 to today’s rate of €14.15 an hour. This includes a 12% increase in 2024, a further increase of more than 6% in 2025, and an additional rise of almost 5% at the start of this year. These increases were well ahead of inflation and have delivered substantial, real-wage growth for the lowest-paid workers in our economy. The Government is committed to the progression to a living wage, set at 60% of the median hourly wages during its lifetime, and to promoting positive working conditions across the economy. However, it is also important to maintain a regulatory environment that allows businesses to remain viable, and to continue to provide quality jobs. It was in that context that last year, as part of measures designed to bolster resilience and support competitiveness, the Government agreed to adjust the timeline for the progression until 2029. This decision should be considered in the context of the recent significant increases in the minimum wage, as I have already outlined, and the progress achieved in reaching a living wage.

The Low Pay Commission, using CSO earnings data, has estimated that the 2025 national minimum wage represented just under 60% of median hourly earnings, and approximately 56% using labour force survey data, underlining the significant progress already achieved. The Government, therefore, believes that any further increases in the national minimum wage must continue to be managed in a sustainable way, and one that does not threaten employment or competitiveness.

This is particularly important for sectors such as hospitality, food services and retail, where employers continue to face significant cost pressures in respect of labour, regulatory costs and energy costs. The Government’s objective is to support low-paid workers while protecting the viability of the businesses that employ them.

The Government carefully considers the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission when determining the appropriate national minimum wage. The commission, when making its recommendation for the minimum wage, has a statutory obligation to have regard-----

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I can put the rest on the record of the House.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Please do. I call Deputy Devine.

Máire Devine (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

With paltry sick leave and a living wage kicked to touch, in his contribution, the Minister did not do an awful lot to instil confidence. His first point was that "nothing prevents parties who wish to exercise their right to collectively bargain". He can tell that to the 700 workers in Covalen. I do not think they would find that very comforting at all. Trade unions are the only organisations that protect the rights and interests of workers, yet in our country, which has a long history of struggle and union activism, is an outlier in Europe. Workers have no right to collective bargaining. Employers holds the cards – their veto – and can refuse to engage with unions, which happens. That creates a chilling effect for workers in the context of job security and the quality of their well-being.

The voluntary system is unfair, one-sided and very short-sighted. It flies in the face of our obligations under international human rights law. It is counterproductive for thriving, successful enterprises and services. In fact, collective bargaining secures industrial peace and economic stability. It respects workers and employers and establishes mature dialogue and has been shown to prevent much industrial action. All other European states legislate for this, and most avoid strikes and stoppages. They reap the rewards of rewarding workers for productivity, innovation and ownership. Those rewards support industrial peace, economic stability and success. Workers have a democratic right to be collectively represented by trade unions.

This Government, including the Minister, made a pledge It should honour that now. The counter-motion is an embarrassment. The Minister made a pre-election pledge, and now he comes along with this. It is time to step up to the plate and deliver.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Hear, hear.

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am proud member of a trade union, SIPTU, and have been for almost 20 years. When I lived in America, I was a member of the services union 32B/32J. I was delighted to see the positive impact that the support from that union had on the election last year of Mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York city.

A survey from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has found that more than half of workers believe their pay does not match their skills and effort. Figures published by the European Commission in 2025 show that one in five employees in Ireland is classified as a low-wage earner. The proportion of Irish workers deemed low-wage earners has effectively remained unchanged since a similar study on earnings was conducted in 2018. The Minister can spin it whatever way he wants, but the Governments of which he has been a member have not addressed the issue of low pay.

As a minimum, we need to start with the introduction of a statutory living wage. The latter has been pushed back to January 2029. This needs to be delivered now and not in three years' time. The 200,000 workers impacted cannot wait; the rising cost of necessities dictates that they cannot afford to wait. Our plan for a living wage includes safeguards for SMEs that may struggle to meet the cost involved and offers exemptions for financially vulnerable businesses. A living wage is necessary to stop the epidemic of low-paid and often precarious work in Ireland. At the same time, we need to help workers and their families to address the rising cost of living, particularly as it relates to rent, transport, and energy.

We also need to legislate for the right to collective bargaining and guaranteed union access to workplaces. The way to drive productivity is to invest in people and improve employment protections. Trade unions deliver better pay and conditions and a stronger and more productive economy, so why is there no urgency to deliver collective bargaining? As usual, when there is a choice to be made Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will always side with employers as opposed to the workers because they know when there is collective bargaining, their rights are stronger, with better pay and better conditions.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I commend the union leaders who are here. I also commend union leaders for the work they have done. Maybe more robust action will be needed in the future. We saw the fuel protests, which involved workers at the end of their tethers who had been given no choice. We see the huge impact of increases in the cost of fuel, which were caused by madness abroad - we accept that and it should be called out – but as much as we have insanity abroad, we need to see sanity here. Those in power need to deliver for workers who are under severe pressure. We hear that the price of wholesale electricity rose by 19.2% in February and March. Then there is kerosene. The Government might not have done enough in relation to green diesel, petrol or diesel, but it has done nothing for those who need to heat their homes. That is an absolute disgrace.

What are we talking about here? We are talking about fair pay and that delivery on the promises made in relation to the minimum wage will not be delayed. We are still talking about a right to collective bargaining and a right of access to the workplace. It is hard to believe that we are still having these conversations in 2026. What have we heard in the news? We have heard about Meta contractor Covalen and the possibility of 700 workers here losing their jobs. In PayPal, 63 jobs have been lost. As much as people tell me that this does not relate to AI, I am afraid that a considerable amount of it is displacement. I know there is no collective bargaining there. That is workers having to set themselves up with incredibly resourced managerial operations. It is not fair in any way, shape or form. We need to see delivery. What we have seen from the Minister in his contribution this evening is continued failure in relation to workers.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

One quarter of jobs in this State are classified as involving low pay, insecurity and poor working conditions. The best way to increase pay, productivity and employee retention is through trade unions and collective bargaining. This is especially true at a time when rising inflation and external shocks are having a deep impact on living standards and affordability for workers and their families. I have been a member of a trade union, the ITGWU and SIPTU, long before I ever became a TD.

One third of workers under 20 years are making less than the minimum wage. Why does an 18-year-old hold less value than a 21-year-old? It is simply a licence for businesses to exploit the labour of the young. They face the same cost-of-living crisis as other workers, fuel prices and rent costs among them. The Government is condemning another generation of young workers to live with their parents, denying them a start of life of their own until they are in their 30s or 40s. It will not come as a shock or surprise that this Government has kicked the can down the road on abolishing sub-minimum rates of pay for young people until 2029. If only it were so simple to defer the cost-of-living crisis.

Equal pay for equal work was a radical concept more than 100 years ago. It should be the norm for men and women in the 21st century. All workers deserve fairness, dignity and respect for their rights, regardless of their age or gender. We must not only bring the minimum wage into line with the living wage but also reverse the decision to delay its introduction until 2029.

Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I also wish to welcome the trade unionists who are in the Gallery tonight. I thank Deputies Conway-Walsh and Guirke and the Sinn Féin team for bringing forward this motion. It is a very apt and important motion as we approach 1 May, which is workers’ day around the world, and celebrate trade union week. It is a time when we remind ourselves of the working class struggle when citizens were treated no better than slaves, working themselves to the bone for a few scraps from the rich man’s table to feed their families.

In our country, we have working-class heroes such as Connolly and Larkin, to name but two. They knew the true value and power of workers standing together to achieve decent conditions and decent wages. When we fast forward to today, we find that 75% of companies in Ireland will not indulge in collective bargaining with trade unions. In fact, the practice of union busting is rampant. The irony is those same companies often receive public contracts and grants funded by taxpaying workers to the tune of millions. Successive Governments have stood idly by. For years, they played a salient role in denying and voting against legislation to allow workers the right to collective bargaining year after year. Eighty-nine TDs signed a pledge to support collective bargaining, but they are complicit in accepting companies banning access to union representatives to workplaces and the exploitation of 200,000 low-paid workers.

The Government's action plan is a knee-jerk response to the European Union directive to increase collective bargaining to 80%. One has to ask why any Government would stall until 2026 to put together a so-called action plan to accept collective bargaining as a right of working people to protect their jobs and conditions. Workers deserve to be treated better. It is they who provide the skills. It is they who keep the wheels of industry turning. The Minister can legislate for the right to collective bargaining now. He can include in any Government contract the right of trade union representatives to access the working place now. He can deliver a living wage now. He can expand remote working rights now. Then again, as Connolly would have said, whose side is the Minister really on?

I urge all TDs to support this motion.

George Lawlor (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

We in the Labour Party are pleased to support this motion. I am pleased to move the amendment in my name and those of my Labour Party colleagues. This debate goes to the heart of what kind of economy we want-----

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Deputy Lawlor cannot move the amendment yet.

George Lawlor (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Okay. I am still learning.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

So am I.

George Lawlor (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

This debate goes to the heart of what kind of economy and society we want, and what value we place on the people whose work keeps this country running every single day. We are living through a cost-of-living crisis that has not eased and shows no sign of easing in any way, any time soon, for ordinary households. Inflation may fluctuate on paper but its impact is felt in every weekly shopping bill, every rent payment, and every energy bill. Workers are doing everything. They are working hard, contributing to the economy and paying their taxes, yet too many workers still find themselves struggling to get by, week in, week out. This weekly struggle is not inevitable. It is the result of political choices.

I listened with interest to this afternoon's Taoiseach's Questions, where An Taoiseach spoke about how he represented workers and not billionaires. The simple fact is that this Government is one of the most anti-worker Governments to govern in this Chamber. While this Government often points to record unemployment levels, those headline figures mask a deeper problem. As has been said already, one quarter of all jobs in Ireland are classified as poor quality, low paid, insecure, and absolutely lacking basic protections. This is not a small minority. It is a major issue in our labour market. Workers are telling us this. The 2026 Ireland Thinks poll, commissioned by ICTU, found that 52% of workers did not believe that they were paid fairly for the work they did. That figure was even higher for women and those on lower incomes. The working in Ireland survey shows that 44% of workers who are not currently in a union would join one if they had the opportunity. That is a powerful indication of a demand for collective representation, yet Ireland remains an outlier in the European Union. We still do not provide a statutory right to collective bargaining. We lag behind other EU member states on paid annual leave, and while other jurisdictions, including Northern Ireland, are moving forward with ambitious, good jobs legislation, this Government has stalled, delayed and diluted its commitments.

The evidence is clear for all to see. Trade union membership and collective bargaining raise pay, improve productivity and reduce staff turnover. They strengthen the economy as a whole but instead of embracing these benefits, the Government has rolled back on statutory sick pay commitments and delayed the introduction of a living wage until 2029. That delay leaves low-paid workers exposed for years to come. This is why this motion calls for a legal right to collective bargaining, for workplace access for unions, for aligning the minimum wage with the living wage, and for expanding access to flexible and remote work.

Motions and Bills that the Labour Party has brought forward in this Chamber have been vehemently opposed by this Government. They are not even being facilitated to go to Second Stage for fear of upsetting big business and the friends in high places. These are not radical demands. They are basic standards in many European countries. Imagine us having the audacity to demand that employers attend joint labour committee, JLC, talks. Upstairs downstairs is alive and well in the bastions of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. We must call out the Government's recent decisions that have repeatedly undermined workers' rights and living standards. That is why the amendment we propose is necessary. Our amendment notes that in budget 2026, the Government provided a VAT reduction to the hospitality sector costing €232 million in 2026 and €681 million in 2027, with no requirement that employers engage with trade unions or participate in joint labour committees. This is a sector where low pay and precarious work are widespread, yet the Government attaches no conditions to ensure that workers would benefit.

The Government failed to index income tax bands and credits in line with the wage code for PAYE and self-employed workers. At the same time, it introduced an improved diesel rebate scheme backdated to January 2026, and other sectoral fuel supports. Once again, ordinary workers were left behind while selective reliefs were prioritised. Since the general election, the Government has repeatedly voted down Labour Party legislation designed to strengthen workers' rights, including Bills to end age-based pay discrimination by abolishing subminimum rates for young people and ensuring that apprentices and interns receive at least the minimum wage, Bills to strengthen sectoral wage-setting through JLCs by ending the employer's veto, a Bill to provide a real right to remote and flexible work, not merely a right to request it, and the introduction of statutory paid medical leave for cancer screening. The Government is on course to miss the mandatory deadline of 7 June 2026 for transposing the EU pay transparency directive, a directive designed to close the gender pay gap and empower workers with information that they are entitled to. These are not isolated oversights. They form a pattern of choices that consistently favour employers over employees and short-term political convenience over long-term fairness.

Our amendment will call on the Government to take the actions that workers urgently need, including the introduction of a cost-of-living mini-budget to index income tax bands and credits in 2026, backdated to January just like the others, alongside targeted energy credits and other supports funded by a levy on windfall energy profits and reversing the hospitality VAT cut. It calls on the Government to commit to ending age-based pay discrimination and the poverty wages imposed on young workers, to increase statutory sick leave to ten days as originally promised when the legislation was introduced during the pandemic, and to bring forward legislation before the summer recess to fully implement the pay transparency directive.

This motion, which would be strengthened by the Labour Party amendment, is about fairness, dignity and economic justice. It is about ensuring that work pays and that the prosperity of this country is shared by those who create it, day in, day out. Workers are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for a fair deal. They are asking for a Government that listens, acts and recognises that a strong economy is built on strong rights, strong protections and strong collective bargaining. I look forward to attending the May Day celebrations at the Lock-out Gate, commemorating the 1911 Wexford lock-out, next Friday evening. I urge anybody who is available to attend those.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to speak in support of the motion. I commend colleagues in Sinn Féin for deciding to use their weekly Private Member's time to advance the argument for a fairer deal for working people in this country with the support of ICTU colleagues. Many trade union friends and colleagues are in the Gallery this evening and watching online. We rightly spend a lot of time in this House making the case for emergency financial support for working people who are struggling to pay the bills, keep food on the table, and merely keep the lights on. It is partly why the Labour amendment questions the decision to continue with a massive wealth transfer to growing hospitality businesses, money that ought to have been used instead to allow working people to pay a little less income tax this year. It is why we have also said, in the amendment referred to by my colleague, Deputy Lawlor, that young workers must be paid at least the same legal minimum wage rate as the adult colleagues who work alongside them.

We spend less time in this Chamber and elsewhere asking ourselves why people who work hard for a living are seeing their living standards slip and their hope for a better future disappear, no matter the shifts that they put in. We rarely ask ourselves what structural problems we are experiencing in this country and what detailed legislative, administrative, regulatory and policy changes we need to introduce to consign that problem, in this rich country, to history.

This timely motion goes to the heart of the problem. The Irish exceptionalism on full collective bargaining rights, the norm across the European Union, simply needs to end. We are European when it suits us and Atlanticists when it does not. If I hear one more time from the Minister or any of his colleagues that the voluntarist model of industrial relations is working, I will scream. It is a sham and a scam. It is intellectually and politically dishonest. It is an observable fact the world over that economies with industrial strategies that embed strong legislative frameworks and cultural norms of trade union access and collective bargaining rights are the best, most productive and most innovative economies on the planet.

It is why Denmark, Finland, Germany and Sweden are well ahead of us. It is why they will continue to be ahead of us and to be more competitive. The voluntarist model has not served working people well. Why? One in five working people is low paid. A plethora of economic sectors are addicted to low pay, subsidised by the State. There is a broken social contract and rising welfare supports for the working poor, rather than the alternative. What is the alternative? Better legal collective bargaining arrangements backed by the State to more fairly distribute the fruits of the labour of PAYE workers. Neither has the voluntarist model served the interests of our economy, if we are to be honest with one another.

Collective bargaining gives certainty to business and the economy. Change is negotiated. Skills are enhanced. Innovation happens in a planned way. True competitiveness is maintained, rather than a race to the bottom for short-term profit over long-term sustainability.

The evidence for collective bargaining is there but it is now clear, despite the Minister's claims to the contrary, that this is a Government with an ideological opposition to collective bargaining. It is on the wrong side of history. I am intrigued by the claim in the countermotion about the action plan on collective bargaining. It is very interesting. Yes, some actions have been delivered - the low-hanging fruit, not the difficult, challenging parts. The Minister is part of a jammy Government - a Government that is presiding over the fruits of an economic surplus and of unparalleled and uninterrupted growth. It is nothing to do with the genius of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. It has fallen into their lap but they do not know how to make this rich country that feels so poor better for the majority of us. Sometimes the stories we tell ourselves as a country, we simply do not recognise. Any of us who cares about our country can and should be proud of our economic success but it is what is done with that success that matters. I looked at the Government countermotion and it confounds me as a representative of working people. Why would a Government in a rich country renege on a solemn promise made before the election to introduce modest extended sick pay schemes and put a commitment made to the lowest paid for a real living wage on the never-never? It is proof, if needed, that were it not for the Labour Party establishing the Low Pay Commission 11 years ago, we would not have seen annual rises in the national minimum wage each year since 2015.

I commend our colleagues on introducing this motion. We support it.

Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I wish everybody in this House a happy May Day this Friday. I particularly extend that to the staff in Leinster House who work so hard to allow us as representatives to do our jobs and work so hard. Of course, many of the staff here are union members.

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion, which succinctly captures the four key issues we need to address and strengthen workers' rights in this country: recognising collective bargaining, giving unions access to the workplace so they can recruit and organise, matching the minimum wage with the living wage, and finally dealing with remote and flexible working in a way that works, not in a way that simply pays lip service to it. We are an outlier in Europe in not recognising unions. That is a problematic issue in many areas I have dealt with in my portfolio dealing with employment. The voluntarist system does not work. I have worked in the private sector and the public sector and I have owned my own business, so I understand why the voluntarist system cannot work. It is because if a company is driven by profit, it does not ever choose to recognise workers' rights over shareholders' interests. It will never be something it will choose to do or volunteer to do. What the voluntarist system tries to do will never work because the power imbalance is too out of kilter.

I was at an event recently and heard a European commentator describe von der Leyen's approach on this European Union Administration as uncritically pro-business. That is an absolutely perfect term to capture the attitude of this Government: uncritically pro-business. In so many decisions it makes, policies it designs and laws it enacts, it thinks about business and how the market can solve our problems, to the detriment of all other interests in society. That is how it chooses to address this and that is why we persistently keep this voluntarist model we all know does not work.

We have heard a lot about the Covalen workers today. I joined those workers on their strike in Sandyford in my constituency a number of months back, when 300 jobs were under threat - never mind the 700 now under threat. They are part of the Communications Workers' Union. I then attended the digital and tech workers alliance chapter of that union. It is so hard for unions to recruit. People will ask why they should bother signing up to a union because when it goes to the negotiating table, it has no power to drive the employer to that table. Unions face a huge issue with recruitment and membership will always remain low if we have this voluntarist model. Despite that, speaking at the launch of the data chapter of the Communications Workers' Union was one of the most exciting moments I have had as a TD because it felt to me like the momentum we know from trade union movements of old, where people recognised that collective bargaining and collective action are crucial. There is a power imbalance which can only be addressed by solidarity and by speaking and acting together. That is what we need to do.

Those Covalen workers trained the AI agents which are now taking their jobs. They are the little tip of the iceberg we will see emerge in the coming weeks, months and years, which will devastate sectors of the workforce across society. Anything that is text-based - lawyers, journalists and accountants - is under threat because data models can take the information and do a lot of the tasks we do. We will see labour displacement through this industrial revolution - the fourth industrial revolution, the AI revolution - at a pace and scale we have never seen before as a species. In this country, we have no power as workers to combat that or deal with it as the challenge it is.

There are many other crises and challenges facing our workforce. When I ask about youth unemployment, I get back that we have more people in jobs in Ireland than ever before and we have full employment. Youth unemployment is a canary in a coalmine. If we do not watch out for it and start to recognise it is coming in other areas, then we are setting ourselves up for failure.

I will be bringing legislation shortly to strengthen the right to request and to access remote and flexible working arrangements. It is not working as it is. We need legislation that allows people to put that question to their employer and directs that the employer cannot just pull out of thin air something they feel is an appropriate answer but has a categorised set of responses. We also need that to kick in from people's first day in their job. At the moment, it only kicks in six months after they start.

There is bogus self-employment, in-work poverty, the cost-of-living crisis we are all facing and the reduction in quality. ICTU has been out and about recently talking about quality work and quality jobs. The gig economy has started what we know is coming across multiple sectors in terms of automation, AI and the precarity of work they drive. When we say we have full employment, it masks the fact that much of that employment is poor quality. It is employment which does not allow people to advance in life or move out of their parents' home; it does not give them security or allow them to make decisions about living their lives and fulfilling their potential. It keeps them down, as so many of these mechanisms do. AI will keep coming at us. We do not have the social structures in place as it stands with this voluntarist system to combat that, deal with it and treat it in the just-transition way we need to think about. When we talk about just transition of the climate, we need to tack on to that the digital just transition that we should be considering. There will be such a level of job displacement that we need to see this as the crisis it is.

The other thing we need to call out is the resistance the Government has to the improvements we have seen in jobs and working conditions that have come through from the EU. Although we eventually transpose those things, we do so kicking and screaming. In terms of the current obligations we are trying to meet as Union members, I have heard Government representatives say the JLCs fulfil our commitments to collective bargaining, which is absolute nonsense.

The JLCs are working in some cases. I absolutely can see that. There are ways in which they are good but they are not good across the board. Some of them has hardly met and that does not create a situation where workers feel in any way empowered or in any way that they have a fair shout in terms of dealing with their employers.

The vision we need to seek is of a social democratic society where unions are properly recognised, where people can sign up for their trade union, where they do not have to hide and furtively discuss the idea of organising within their workplaces, and where access to the workplace is provided to unions which allows people to organise and to bargain collectively for better pay and working conditions. We need that system where the living wage is where our minimum wage is at and where people can access remote working and flexible working arrangements and that they can do so with the power of collective action, that they can sit at a table and expect their employer will meet them at that table. Right now, they can choose to collectively unite and to collectively act but when they go to that table, the voluntary system means the employer simply does not have to come to it and say, "No thanks". I have heard of companies where one plant will recognise unions and another plant does not and that is just as a result of historical legacy issues where in one company issues are dealt with by human resources while in other it is dealt with by proper industrial relations mechanisms. That is ridiculous. It is absolutely insane that you cannot rely on the security of trade union membership and what collective action can bring to you in the workplace and that, literally, in one company, it can change from one thing to the other. We must address the power imbalance we currently have and we must force employers to come to the table. This motion does exactly that by outlining those key issues that need to be addressed: collective bargaining, union access, living wage and remote working.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Sinn Féin for this important motion. I obviously agree with all of the points put forward about collective bargaining rights, providing unions access to the workplace, bringing the minimum wage in line with the living wage and the issue of workers' right to remote working.

I want to give a shout out to a few specific groups of workers. The first is the Oireachtas TV workers. They tell me that the people who broadcast these proceedings are being left off the roster because of their union activities and because they have campaigned over what is really shameful. They are doing us and the country a big favour, although maybe it is debatable that they are doing the country a favour by broadcasting what goes on in here but it is a public service. Some of them are earning about €12,000 per year and are laid off when the Dáil is in recess during the summer holidays, Christmas and all the rest. They are disgraceful conditions for people who are providing an important service for democracy and for this House. Nothing has been done about it. The company making profits from all of this continues to get the contract again and again. It is outrageous. Something needs to be done about it. It is disgraceful that has been let stand.

Second, I mentioned the Covalen issues already. I mentioned it earlier on and it has been mentioned here again. Covalen made €26 million in profit the year before last. It is a major contractor for META that is making absolute billions. These are the content moderators who protect people against the toxic content you get on social media and all the rest of it, who are then training up the AI that replaces them. Covalen benefits from all sorts of tax breaks and reductions and all that kind of stuff, such as research and development tax credits, no doubt, but refused to recognise the union and now 700 workers, and 300 before that, were told their jobs are gone without a by-your-leave. There will be no redundancy and Covalen refuses to engage with the union. Employers should not be allowed to do that to workers. It is as simple as that. Yet, this Government does not stand with the workers but instead bends over backwards for these companies that exploit workers, make super profits and treats them in this utterly disgraceful way.

I spoke to those workers, their union representatives, the Communication Workers Union, CWU, and their shop stewards this morning and they are asking the Government for an intervention. They want to meet the Taoiseach and the senior Minister and they want the Government to intervene with Meta to engage with the union and to, at least, insist something is done about this six-month cooling-off period - it means they cannot get a job elsewhere - so they can get alternative employment.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome the proposals in this motion. It is long past the time that collective bargaining and trade union representation were made mandatory. It is 113 years after James Connolly and James Larkin led the lockout in this city to seek basic rights for workers. This State is completely at odds with the rest of Europe in not recognising the right to trade union representation and collective bargaining. All that is in the programme for Government are vague commitments. Yes, we have a high level of employment but we also have a high level of poor quality jobs and that continues to be a problem. A large percentage of those jobs are poor quality and low paid. There is widespread casualisation, short-term contracts, precarious hours, bogus self-employment, and I could go on.

Unions have been resisted by many employers. There are reports of the victimisation of those who try to join, or recruit for, a trade union. The Government talks about collective bargaining and social partnership but 78% of the workforce in this State are locked out of that because only 22% of the workforce are in unions in 2024, the second lowest rate of union membership in the European Union, according to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The Government needs to legislate to give trade unions legal access to workplaces, to organise and to provide legal rights for trade union representation and collective bargaining on pay and conditions, etc.

It was disappointing that the can was kicked down the road in regard to the living wage. This should have been brought forward and done a lot sooner. While the minimum wage has increased by a small amount, it does not cut it. Young workers aged under 20 are being exploited. Some of them are just getting 70% of the minimum wage, what is called a sub-minimum wage, but they are doing the same job. It is age-based discrimination. The Minister recently decided to defer any reform of the living wage until 2029 and that is disgraceful.

Big business was very well looked after in the last budget, in legislation and in everything in this Dáil. Workers, however, are being left behind and it is now time to give basic rights to workers - those who get up early and keep this country running. A legal right to representation by a trade union and membership of one is a must. While you can join one, you cannot be represented by it.

Access to the workplace for unions representatives is essential as is bringing forward reform of the minimum wage. That it has to wait until 2029 must be rescinded. We need to deal with the exploitation of young workers aged under 20 who are doing the same work but who are on this so-called sub-minimum wage. That is not acceptable. That is discrimination against young workers.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Sinn Féin motion and call on as many workers as possible to come out this Friday, on May Day, at 6.30 p.m. in Dublin. We need a movement of workers in this country and workers need to learn from what happened during the recent protests.

I do not have much time, so I will focus on the mistreatment of workers by the Government, their employer. They are the ASTI members. The Government has taken a decision to restrict access to promotional posts for the senior cycle leaving certificate reform. It will not be open to ASTI members, the biggest second level union in this country, because the ASTI did not vote the way the Government wanted it to vote in a recent ballot. The Government is discriminating on the basis of union membership. ASTI members are being punished, not because they rejected senior cycle reform, by the way, but because they rejected an unsafe and unsupported implementation model. Despite this, ASTI members are now excluded by their employer from applying for AP1 and AP2 posts while other teachers in the TUI, in no union at all and who did not have a vote or who did not bother to vote will be permitted to apply. Even if they did vote against it, it is a bit like saying that Fine Gael tried to abolish the Seanad and failed, so it should never be allowed to go into the Seanad. It is the exact same situation.

This is a clear escalation from past disputes over pay and conditions into direct discrimination in career progression for teachers who are members of the union. Teachers are being asked to take on a huge amount of responsibility and these were the issues that determined that vote for State certification through additional assessment components.

8 o’clock

Teachers now have to verify authenticity in the age of AI, effectively taking over roles that were once done by the State Examinations Commission. They are also being asked to supervise exams or to run exams with significant safety concerns, for example the new laboratory-based assessments. These issues remain unresolved and it is not an isolated pattern. It follows a previous pattern where ASTI members were discriminated against but it is new in not allowing people to apply for promotion. It now means that any worker should learn from this because if the Government does not like a decision taken in a ballot, it can discriminate against you in order to reward compliance by one group of workers. That is an absolutely disgusting decision and I am asking the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, to reverse it. The Minister of State knows that he cannot stand over it. I am hoping it will be legally challenged on the basis of discrimination on the basis of union membership. It is absolutely shameful by the Government.

Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome this motion and support it. It is appropriate that we debate this motion on workers' rights in the lead up to May Day. May Day and May Day demonstrations resulted from the adoption of a resolution for a great international demonstration at the International Workers' Congress in Paris in 1889. That demonstration was in support of workers' rights and the demand for an eight-hour working day, and 1 May was chosen to commemorate a general strike in the United States which had begun on 1 May 1886. In Ireland, May Day was first celebrated in 1890, organised by the Dublin Council of Trade Unions. The key demand from the platform speakers on the day of course was the eight-hour working day.

The working class and their trade unions have always been at the forefront of the fight for workers' rights and for national independence and self-determination. We need only remember the 1913 Lockout, the 1916 Easter Rising and the role played by the Irish Citizen Army led by James Connolly. We remember the banner hanging from Liberty Hall, the HQ of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union at the time which said, "We serve neither King nor Kaiser but Ireland". Is it not shameful that, more than 100 years since independence, Irish workers do not have the legal right to collective bargaining through a union?

The work in Ireland survey 2026 found that the 44% of workers in Ireland who are not currently in a trade union would like to join. One of the reasons is that many employers, including hugely profitable multinational companies, refuse to negotiate with trade unions and cannot be forced to do so under current legislation. Urgent legislative change is needed to provide for a legal right to collective bargaining by trade unions. These companies put every obstacle in the way of trade unions recruiting members, including refusing access by trade unions to workplaces. Some even resort to harassment of leafleteers handing out union information on public thoroughfares near their companies.

Trade union membership and collective bargaining have been shown to increase pay, productivity and employee retention, and benefits to the community generally. The Government decision to row back on commitments to increase statutory sick pay and to delay the introduction of the living wage until 2029 is shameful and should be reversed immediately. The ask now is to introduce legislation to provide for a legal right to collective bargaining by trade unions, to provide legal access to workplaces by trade unions, to increase statutory sick pay, and to introduce the living wage immediately.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Aontú supports workers' rights. Good work should ensure good pay, terms and conditions. A worker who works hard should have a decent wage and should be able to live well. Aontú is committed to justice in the workplace and the rights of workers on the island of Ireland to fair pay for fair work, and to allow for fair living conditions. We support dignity at work and the rights of workers to equitable pay and working environments.

Low pay and precarious work affect many people in this country. Some firms are treating workers without respect and with limited guarantees in terms of paid hours. I brought in the Banded Hours Contract Bill back in 2015. That Bill aimed to address erratic working hours in this country. Right now we need a strong and resourced agency to ensure proper compliance and legislation enforcement in these practices. Exploitative work such as bogus self-employment is a significant problem still today. It is an incredible situation. It robs the State of the taxes it is entitled to. That should be rooted out. It also robs the workers themselves of their rights and safeguards in terms of being able to look after holiday pay, sick pay and pension entitlements.

The national minimum wage needs to be sufficient, in truth, to deal with the 140,000 workers who currently are the working poor in Ireland. It is an incredible situation that 140,000 people are working but still do not have enough to be able to make ends meet in this country. That is a major problem. No business and no employer should have the right to build a business model that can only function when it provides a level of standards in terms of wages, pay and conditions that are not enough for people to be able to survive and live well. That should not be allowed. One of the biggest threats we have to the cohesion of the world at the moment is the over-concentration of wealth that exists and the fact that 1% of the wealthiest own about 43% of global assets. The lack of employee power in that relationship with employers leads in to that issue.

The Government also needs to look at the role it plays in this. Public services really can help in terms of workers. It provides a social wage, a type of income top-up, in relation to this. It means that workers have more disposable income because the services that they need are provided properly by the State as well. In truth, when I speak to workers around the country they tell me that some of the biggest problems they have at the moment are the cost-of-living crisis, the price of houses and the cost of rent. If we look at the incompetency of this Government, in many ways it is driving wage inflation in this country because workers are trying to keep up to be able to pay for the costs that are coming at them.

Before I became a TD I worked as a management consultant. I worked with hundreds of different businesses. I noticed very strongly that only when businesses are in equilibrium with employees in terms of the power dynamic are they likely to have a proper functioning business with happy employees who are productive and working well. When that power dynamic shifts and either one has too much power, that actually leads to a really difficult working situation and leads to damage to the functioning of that business. For an equilibrium and for a power balance to exist between employers and employees we must have the right to trade union membership and the right to collective bargaining. If we do not have that balance in the relationship, there will always be a section of employees at the wrong end of that power balance who will suffer. That suffering will be seen in exploitation and the loss of the ability to survive in terms of the work they do. We are calling for the Government to make sure that collective bargaining is brought into this country and that workers have a proper right to be represented.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Independent Ireland supports a lot of what is being proposed here this evening going forward. I would also bear the employer in mind. I do not think anyone has spoken here about the employer and the difficulties many employers have at this present time and which many employers have had for quite a period of time. It is about finding that balance between rooting out the wrong being done to employees in this society but still protecting employers who are trying to create jobs. Sometimes when we talk inside in the Dáil here it is like everybody is Dell or everybody is Apple, but that is not the case. There are people out there with four or five employees and they are struggling at this present time. They are struggling to deal with the minimum wage even while many are giving over the minimum wage, and they are dealing with holiday pay, maternity pay and paternity pay. They pay out and pay out. They are telling me that they are barely surviving. They are struggling and many are walking away. We have to really find the balance here going forward. It is very easy for me to get up here and say, "Ah sure I am with you all the way and everyone is being wronged and everybody needs to be better paid." Yes, there are hard workers, those people who get up at unearthly hours of the morning every day of the week, fighting hard and struggling to survive, struggling to put money on the table to feed people, but so is the employer and certainly the small employers. We have to protect them also and we have to talk about them here as many have not. When I was at the fuel protests I spoke to many hard-working employers and employee. There was a unity at those peaceful protests.

These were farm operators, builders, taxi drivers, bus drivers and fishermen. They were all either employing somebody or employed. They were standing together because they knew they were at the end of their tether and they could not cope any longer. They needed State assistance and it was not there for them. Obviously, people got angry and things got little bit worse as the week went on but it was not too bad in fairness. A protest is a protest and I believe in democracy as long as it is peaceful.

What I am saying is that I do have very serious concerns. There are lot of home helps and carers who are undergoing savage costs. Carers are undergoing being means tested. These are such unfair burdens on people who are delivering and working for this country. They are saving this country millions of euro and they are not being respected enough. I have fierce concerns about home helps. I might bring forward something soon about the Government walking away from the old system that is there for the mainly women, who provide a fantastic service, and who are now being hit with massive fuel costs. They are also being hit with private companies taking them over. People from all over the world are working in homes where people deliver locally. They were there and they were always willing to do more hours. They were never given that opportunity and that is an abuse of an employee as far as I am concerned. I see it in my own place in west Cork where people have told me they would work extra hours but they are not being given them. Then I am being told people cannot get them, which is only a fob job to get rid of us.

I look at ambulance workers and there is talk about a strike next month. I am not sure how negotiations are going. Recently, I read that there are issues regarding pay and a failure over the past 20 years to update staff salaries to reflect changes in the responsibility in the workload. These people work under immense pressure and I know it well. In my constituency we are blessed to have people who work long hours, delivering for people and saving people's lives. They are pulled and hauled all over the place, wrongfully, behind an iron curtain. They could be up in Tipperary collecting a patient when they should be down in Skibbereen. Terrible wrongdoing is being done to these people. A new wrongdoing is bypassing the local Bantry General Hospital. I am well aware of this. I have been notified about it on numerous occasions. Management in the ambulance service is trying turn a blind eye to it. That is very unfair, again, to workers who are fighting for their basic human rights. That is what they are fighting for.

The Government needs to sit up and listen and reward those who do get up in the morning, the hard-working man and woman who go to work every morning. Some of these people are even pension aged and are still working because they have to put bread and butter on the table. At the end of the day, when most of these people come home, they have very few comforts. They may have the little comfort of going to the coffee shop and maybe going for something to eat at the weekend but this is being denied them because they do not have the money. The people do not have the money and it is a massive crisis in this country.

I met a Nigerian gentleman lately who told me he has been here for 20 years. He said we have a beautiful country but it is badly run. I had to stand back and tell him he was bloody right. He stunned me but he was 100% right in what he said. He knew it and he focused on it. He loves this country and he works his butt off in this country. When I was talking to him we got into detail. The problem is we are badly run. We need to sit back and reward those who work mortally hard to keep this country ticking over.

Look at the fight we had about the SNAs this year. The Government put up a fight on the SNAs and basically it was getting rid of some of them. Not alone this but a bit of respect goes a long way. The Government did not give this respect and put the wrong message out. It was the wrong message, in fairness, but the Government withdrew it. It may not have had the intended effect but it frightened the living daylights out of parents, SNAs and those of us in politics who knew what the SNAs were delivering for the people and that the Government did not reflect this by rewarding them.

I have been on a school board of management for many years and I see school secretaries. Deputy Boyd Barrett spoke about the Oireachtas TV company. It is the same for school secretaries. When summer comes, they are told to go home and go on welfare. This is not a fair reflection on society. If it is good enough for a teacher to get paid, it is good enough for school secretaries.

We have to be inclusive. We have to understand. I really do stand up for the small employers of this country who are massively struggling at present. We cannot point the finger at them because most of them are paying all their contributions and pension entitlements. There is a new one again this year that has worried the living daylights out of employers. A lot of them are saying it is not worth it. I see it in few cafés. I know that VAT is coming down and I welcome this but I have seen it in a good few cafés. Employers have told me they were working too but it was the workers who were making money while they were making nothing, so they are walking away from it. We cannot have a society like this. We need to encourage and reward people. This is a very difficult country for someone to make a profit in. They need to be rewarded for the work they put in. They need to be able to go home with a profit because a profit is turned around and put back into the business.

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome this debate on workers' rights. I said in the House 12 months ago that if we are serious about workers' rights, we also need to be serious about protecting industries, infrastructure and investment to create and secure skilled and well-paid jobs for Irish workers. In recent weeks I have heard constant attacks on the private wires Bill, which will boost renewable infrastructure in this country. Too often the debate is driven by fear instead of facts. The reality is that the Irish energy transition is not an energy transition but an energy demolition and rebuild. For this we need to support workers and enable the grid to be developed faster and give jobs to electricians, crane operators and welders. This is why the private wires Bill, which has recommendations from the climate and energy committee, will boost Irish jobs, including machine operators, construction workers and apprentices throughout the country and in my constituency.

Over the weekend I spoke to a group of young electricians who were doing their PV course and looking forward to the boost in income from solar farms and, working with the Government, from the upkeep of plug-in solar. I would love to see this rolled out across social and affordable housing, which does not have access to rooftops and could benefit from a Government-led plug-in solar scheme. If we bought plug-in solar at a large scale and employed Irish workers to install it at a regulated setting and at a reduced rate for social and affordable houses, the people in my constituency who are struggling with their bills would benefit from it, as would the people who have trained to be electricians. It would create jobs and support workers.

Many projects and connections that simply would not happen in a reasonable timeline would be helped by private wires. Many companies would prefer to get standard grid connections quickly but this is not the case. Multiple parliamentary questions I have submitted on the timeline delays for renewable projects show the need for private wires legislation. With private wires legislation, we will increase the number of people who can work on renewable projects and increase the workforce, protecting workers.

When people in the House criticise the private wires Bill, they need to answer to the electricians, the workers and everyone in Ireland who would benefit from the increase of taxation of companies that will be using renewable projects to expand their business. When businesses invest here, the Irish people benefit. I hear claims about how private wires somehow shifts costs onto ordinary households. If the company remains connected to the public grid, it still pays the same connection standing charge as many other users. We have seen recommendations on this to protect and support people and the workers of the State. If we buy less electricity from the grid, and it generates a source of renewable electricity, we will benefit Irish workers. I have heard other scaremongering.

If we believe that the charge instructions need to be changed, the CRU has regulatory power to adjust the tariffs and standing charges in order to ensure fairness to consumers. We need to be honest about data centres in this Chamber. I did my thesis on data centres 18 months ago. I worked in the industry. All my friends who are now working in the industry are shocked by what they hear in this Chamber in relation to data centres. Yes, we need to change the current system of how they are used. We could use waste heat utilisation for district heating systems, but all the optimisations in the context of how data centres are using energy will help Irish workers. People need to take the actual facts on board. I would welcome a debate.

With regard to the-----

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy.

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

All right. I will go again on that. Go raibh maith agat.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Sinn Féin for giving us the opportunity to talk about a very important subject. I recognise the great work employees do in carrying out their duties in so many businesses that I know. When we talk about employees, we have to talk about employers as well because they are in it together. If an employer cannot carry on, he or she will not have the employees. I know this from working in the private sector for many years. My son is carrying on the business now. We have workers who have stayed with us for almost 40 years. We depend on them. If we do not treat them right and if they are not paid right or looked after, they will not stay with us. It is the same across the board. I recognise that many employees feel like maybe they cannot make ends meet. The cost of everything has gone up. What is happening in relation to the situation with oil is still hurting people. Little was done for workers by way of helping with their tax in this year's budget. That needs to be dealt with, sooner rather than later.

It is so hard now to get trained workers like good machine operators, lorry drivers, bus drivers or whatever. There are so many rules and regulations. We read in last weekend's newspapers that Ireland has the fewest entrepreneurs in Europe. We need to look at that and see how it can be changed. People are saying that this is caused by the fact that it takes so long to get planning and deal with the regulation and everything that goes with it, insurance, and so on. It takes too long to get things off the ground. That places a burden upon employers' shoulders. As we are talking here tonight, we are saying that workers must be looked after. They are the kernel of the issue. They have to be looked after and paid properly. An employer will not have workers if he or she does not look after them properly.

The Government has to do something about the tax situation because the cost of living has gone up in every sphere. The regulations will have to be looked at. When seeking to get connected to services, including those relating to water and electricity, people can be told that it could be any number of months. There is an exorbitant cost for those connections. It is taking so long for would-be employers to get going. All those things need to be addressed, as do the cost of public liability insurance and the weight that is placed upon employers' shoulders.

If employers cannot operate, they cannot hire employees or look after them properly. We have to look after people properly because if we do not, we will not have them. Good workers are very scarce.

I need to mention the oil crisis. Home helps and carers-----

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

-----are telling me that they cannot continue. It can go in one ear and out the other, but I ask the Minister of State to listen because we will not have these people. It is elderly individuals who want to stay in their homes for as long as possible who will suffer. They will finish up in hospitals and nursing homes-----

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

-----where it will cost a lot more to mind them. I ask the Minister of State to deal with that as a matter of urgency.

There was no package given in respect of the increase in the cost of the green diesel used in machinery that is involved in construction, and that will not carry on either. The number of houses that will be built will be reduced because when the price goes up from 98 cent to €1.78, people cannot afford it. They will not be able to keep going. I ask the Minister of State to deal with the last couple of things I said as a matter of urgency.

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy and call the Minister of State.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank all the Deputies who contributed to this debate. I reiterate that the Government's approach to employment legislation in recent years has been deliberate, balanced and firmly grounded in the lived realities of both workers and employers. Across remote and flexible working, sick leave, pay, collective bargaining and sector specific protections, we have pursued reforms that strengthen security predictability and fairness at work, while also recognising the need to maintain competitiveness and economic sustainability. Importantly, these reforms are not developed in isolation. They are informed by research consultation with social partners, engagement with regulators and evidence gathered through statutory reviews and economic analysis. We have responded to profound changes in how people work through the right to request remote working and flexible working, enhanced protections around working times, strengthened sick pay entitlements and the right to disconnect. We have modernised our employment framework to reflect the change in the labour market.

Where legislation has been introduced, the Government has committed not only to implement it but also to review it in order to ensure that measures operating as intended can be refined, where necessary. At the same time, decisive action has been taken to improve pay and conditions for low-paid and vulnerable workers. These include substantial increases in the national minimum wage, continued progress towards a living wage, stronger regulation to sectorial employment orders and employment regulatory orders and enhanced protections for agency workers. Together, these measures demonstrate a sustained commitment to improve job quality and addressing insecurity at work. I also want to be clear that there are no constitutional or legal barriers preventing workers or employers in Ireland from freely exercising their right to collective bargaining where both parties choose to do so. The voluntary process is supported by an extensive statutory framework that underpins and reinforces collective bargaining, promotes constructive engagement between the social partners and ensures that dialogue and representation operate in a fair, structured and effective manner.

Ireland's action plan to promote collective bargaining represents a significant milestone. It reflects a renewed focus on social dialogue, effective employee representation and strong industrial relation institutions, all of which are the cornerstone of a stable, high-quality labour market. Through phased implementation, robust governance and close engagement with employers and trade unions, we are building an industrial relations framework that is both resilient, balanced and responsive to future challenges. It is also important to be clear about the fact that improving the quality of work does not fall to any single measure or piece of legislation. It requires steady and co-ordinated action across pay, work conditions, representation, enforcement and economic policy. This is precisely the approach that the Government continues to take.

The progress made in recent years has been real and tangible. It demonstrates a clear commitment to fairness and dignity and the opportunities in the workplace. While challenges remain, the direction of travel is clear. We will continue to listen, to review and act ensuring that Ireland remains a country where good work is supported, workers are protected and enterprises can grow and provide sustainable employment.

I commend these measures to the House and reaffirm the Government's ongoing commitment to building a labour market that works for every worker right across this country in every sector.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I commend everyone who has brought forward this motion and all the speakers so far. We have an issue in this country with workers' rights. While I understand the Government may be in denial of that, the fact of the matter is we do not have collective bargaining as a right and that is something which needs to be established as a right.

Of course, we enjoy pretty good employment. A lot of employers cannot get workers. That is one of the issues we have across our economy, but we also have an issue where we have a very large number of people who are in precarious employment and do not have the standards that they need to have. Those standards need to be put in place and that will only happen if the State has a firm hand of regulation to ensure they are put in place. That is why it is so important we have trade unions and that more and more workers recognise they would be better off if they were in a trade union. The difficulty is that the employer can just turn their back on that and will not allow trade unions into many workplaces. That is an issue that needs to be dealt with.

While Government has this notion that employers, particularly some of the large multinational employers in the country, can somehow or other step outside of the norm, that is not appropriate. We need to have a situation where we guarantee that people who work hard, who get up in the morning very early, who contribute to society and do everything right also have rights, and that those rights are underwritten by the State. That is why the State has to come in to ensure that it underwrites those rights. So far, Government has failed to do that. The big message in this debate this evening is that the Government needs to step up to the mark here and needs to ensure that we guarantee workers the right to collective bargaining and the right to union access in the workplace, and that wages are something that workers must have to be able to live and to be able to get the kind of services they require across the economy.

One of the issues that often comes to light - I am sure in the Minister of State's constituency as well - is where we have people who are looking to get home help, for example, but they cannot get workers. We are told that they are advertising and they cannot get anyone. The reality is that such workers are being paid approximately €16 an hour. That is only about €2 above the minimum wage for work which is very difficult and very hard. There is a real, high responsibility in looking after elderly and sick people, yet they are on that kind of salary and that is the salary which is being offered to them by the State. There needs to be recognition that if we are to get people to do those kind of jobs, we need to pay them properly and the first people that have to pay them properly is the State. If the State and the HSE, which are directly employing workers in this regard, pay adequate and proper wages, the other providers will also have to step up to the mark and pay adequate and proper wages. That has failed to happen.

I commend this motion to the House and I hope that Government sits up and listens.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North-West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The cost-of-living crisis has hit particularly hard those on low and average incomes, who are more exposed to this crisis as well as the mounting inflation that has driven up costs. Public and private sector workers' earnings are being eroded. Such households have become especially vulnerable as a consequence of the fluctuating political problems across the world and the unnecessary wars that have brought us to the brink of a global recession driven by the escalating conflict in the Middle East and a related rise in worldwide energy prices. Low and average income households are struggling with spiralling energy costs and the Government's response to this current escalating problem is inadequate. There is a need for the reintroduction of energy credits and a removal of excise duty on home heating oil to help struggling families.

Workers also have concerns about the quality of jobs that they are doing. A significant portion of the workforce has characterised the work they are doing as low paid, insecure and with poor working conditions. What could offset much of this would be making collective bargaining a statutory right. Ireland is behind much of Europe by not having this as a statutory right. The Government's response to this anomaly is to introduce an action plan to promote collective bargaining which unions have condemned for lacking concrete legal reforms as well as its measures being primarily aspirational rather than mandatory. The plan is insufficient when compared to the rest of Europe.

Collective bargaining strengthens employees' negotiation power and balances the employer-employee power dynamic. The benefit for employees is that they can negotiate for improved compensation and better benefits. Collective bargaining can ensure overall fairer treatment for workers, can offer greater job security and, most importantly, legal agreement protecting working conditions. Additionally, the delay in replacing the national minimum wage with a living wage until 2029 will severely impact the lowest-paid workers who, according to the ICTU, will lose approximately €600 this year alone.

Strengthening workers' rights and improving conditions in the workplace is not only good for the worker; it also creates a productive economy. Workers earning the living wage will spend their wages on goods and services-----

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Thank you, Deputy.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North-West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

-----which stimulates demand, driving further economic activity and thereby creating a cycle of growth which can only be good, not only for the worker but for the country.

Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The cost-of-living crisis is putting massive pressure on workers and their families. Everything they buy and use, including their rent, fuel, food and meals continues to increase leaving workers unable to make ends meet. The dream that is sold to young people, that if they stay in school, do well, go to college or get an apprenticeship, they will get a job that will meet their needs, is becoming a nightmare. A lot of our young people are voting with their feet and leaving this country.

Did the Minister of State know that the overall employment figures mask that one quarter of jobs in Ireland are considered poor quality, characterised by low pay, insecurity and poor working conditions? The findings of the 2026 Ireland Thinks poll, commissioned by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, found that 52% of workers do not believe they are paid fairly for the work they do and that figure is higher for women and for people on low incomes. According to the Working in Ireland Survey, 44% of workers in Ireland not currently in a union would like to join one. Ireland, as the best little place in Europe to do business, is an outlier in the European Union in not providing workers with a statutory right to collective bargaining and lags behind other EU member states. I have worked in several places where being part of the union was required. As you went into the employment, you were told you were joining a union. It was really good. We had very strong unions and very strong negotiations with the management and it was a brilliant place to work, but that is a rare thing and is getting rarer.

The Minister of State needs to provide a legal right to collective bargaining through a union and provide unions with legal access to a workplace. Imagine, we are asking for legal access to a workplace for representatives. The Government also needs to bring the minimum wage into line with the living wage and increase access to flexible and remote working arrangements for employees. It is about workers' rights. It is about giving people who are on low pay the opportunity that everybody else has - a right to collective bargaining and a right to be in employment that pays well.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank all my colleagues for their contributions. I have to say I am dismayed to see the lack of Government speakers on this important issue tonight. It does not bode well. It sends a message out to workers that there is nothing more to see here. I am really disappointed. I thank all of the Opposition for their contributions. I acknowledge the work of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the engagement we had earlier today. Its contribution reflected the lived reality of workers across the State and their voices deserved to be heard.

Our motion was grounded in two simple but urgent priorities: supporting workers through the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and expanding collective bargaining so workers have a real voice in the workplace. I will address a couple of points. This nonsense that there is no constitutional or legal impediment which prevents parties who wish to exercise their right to collective bargaining from freely doing so shows how out of touch the Government is with the reality of the way workers are treated when they try to access a union. Without having that legal provision there, it will not work and has not worked. There are companies that have branches in other jurisdictions which have that legal right to access trade unions. It is not right.

It shows companies are well able to do that.

I want to also address the position of small and medium businesses because we all care about competitiveness. That is why, in our alternative budget, Sinn Féin provided for a PRSI rebate to address those issue and to address the inequity where small employers may need an extra bit of help. There is a surplus in the National Training Fund. We just need a bit of imagination. However, we must collectively agree that everyone has to have access to a union and legal access to a union. That will not go away so my message to the Government tonight is that everyone should have a legal right to access a union.

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time on Wednesday, 29 April 2026.