Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

Senator Cummins touched on an extremely important issue. If he is not in a position to do so now, perhaps the Minister of State will indicate on Report Stage whether part-time employees will be included in this regard. I am aware from what happens in Kinsale that the work of stevedores is extremely seasonal in nature. Two or three ships might enter the port in the same week and people might be obliged to work day and night to unload their cargoes. However, there might be very little activity for three or four weeks. I know Kinsale is not one of the big commercial ports. Does the measure relate to full-time employees? For a number of reasons port activities can be seasonal. Some people who are employed as ship pilots in Bantry Bay work on-call. They might have four ships one week and then three weeks without a ship for whatever reason. Adverse weather conditions can lead to the virtual closure of ports for some time.