Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

The distinction I drew on Committee Stage was between employees who are on a contract of service and employees who are on a contract for service. Employees on a contract of service tend to be with a company for a very long time. A contract for service tends to be much shorter. This distinction is recognised by the Revenue Commissioners and others and it would be extremely undesirable to exclude people who are long-term employees in a company, even if they are supplied by an agency. This would be the effect of amendment No. 1, which nobody would wish to see happen.

Agency workers can work for the same company for several years and they ought to be entitled to information and consultation. I discussed the matter with the Parliamentary Counsel following Committee Stage and I was assured that what I said on Committee Stage about the distinction between a contract of service and a contract for service was correct. The concern about agency workers outlined by Senators Quinn and Coghlan on Committee Stage and today is groundless.