John Carty (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Bill proposed by the Labour Party as it has many good points. There is evidence of agency workers not being well treated by employers and it is time that protection was afforded to them.

The Minister is well aware of this and has set out to strengthen the Employment Agency Act 1971. In May 2004, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment issued a discussion paper on the review of the 1971 Act and submissions made by various interested bodies. In 2005, the Department issued a White Paper on the review of the Employment Agency Act 1971. This White Paper took account of the submissions received on the Department's discussion paper of May 2004. The review was undertaken and was subsumed into the discussions on Towards 2016. There are commitments regarding the licensing regime, the establishment of a statutory code of practice providing for standards in the employment agency sector and the setting up of a monitoring and advisory committee to oversee preparations of the code of practice. This committee will be representative of the social partners and the employment agency sector of Departments.

The Minister has drafted a Bill which will reflect the commitment in Towards 2016 to a licensing system where to be licensed, employment agencies will be required to comply with the terms of a statutory code of practice which will set out the practices and standards which employment agencies will be obliged to follow.

The issues I wish to put forward are the legitimate role in the economy of the choice for employees to benefit from the flexibility, personal freedom and additional income arising from agency working; the reduction of bureaucracy in the challenge to address the rapid change in employment structures and any purposes which reflect realities in the workplace and sustainability of employment; ensuring a pragmatic mix of employment opportunities prevails in society to accommodate the competing demands of all stakeholders; competition and efficient work practices and willingness to devise and co-operate in initiatives to think outside the box to improve employee-employer relations; and acknowledgement of the long-term broader public interest and the benefits received right across all sectors in a sustained vibrant and competitive economy.

These are some of my views, but my overriding objective is that we must continue to improve our competitiveness to achieve sustained economic performance, and we must continue with a unity of purpose and the right approach being adopted by all stakeholders. A number of issues will be considered further in the forthcoming pay talks. While this Bill is well intentioned, we must await broader legislation which will provide for all aspects concerning agency workers to be well covered. I know the Government intends to do this and I await the outcome of its deliberations.

Mention was made in the House that the new directive was being held up by Ireland, the UK and Hungary. During the Portuguese Presidency last December it was decided there was not sufficient consensus to proceed.