Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I will try to be helpful. I can give examples of two groups about which there is doubt. One, as Senator McDowell mentioned, consists of people covered by the legislation we passed last year, the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act, which ensures that employees become entitled to permanency after a number of years of continued contracts. People covered by this Act may be temporary but they will eventually become permanent. Another group about which there is doubt is unestablished civil servants, which are not mentioned in that part of the Bill, although there is reference to civil servants of the Government and of the State. There is a process under which unestablished civil servants can become permanent civil servants. It is not clear whether these are considered new entrants.

There is a lack of clarity in parts of the legislation. The Minister's six advisers and those in every other Department know that nothing is as complicated as trying to sort out legislation such as this in a few years' time when people begin to wonder about their entitlements. We have been through this before. The points raised by Senator McDowell must be dealt with so they may be clearly understood and people will know where they stand.