John Carty (Fianna Fail)

In welcoming the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, I would like it noted there are three Members present in the Chamber from County Mayo and Senator Bradford, considering his recent marriage announcement, will soon be an honorary member of the county. I do not know if Senators Ryan or Dearey have a Mayo connection but Senator Quinn has been spending much time in the county recently.

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the EU directive on temporary agency work. Under the terms of the directive, member states are required to transpose it into national legislation by 5 December 2011. I am sure the Minister of State will ensure its passage through both Houses which will be an opportunity for the House to ensure the legislation will be beneficial both to employees and the country.

The directive respects and complies with the principles of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, specifically article 31 which provides that every worker has the right to working conditions which respect his or her health, safety and dignity to a limitation of maximum working hours, rest periods, night work, paid holidays and public holidays.

It also covers work undertaken by pregnant women and nursing mothers, children and young people, and includes action taken to combat discrimination on the grounds of sex, race or ethnic origin, religion or beliefs, disabilities, age or sexual orientation.

The directive is therefore wide-ranging. The legislation will be comprehensive when it comes before the House. The directive makes changes to national law and any further employment rights, since article 2 now designates employment agencies as the employer. Most countries guarantee substantial rights to all people at work. The main purpose of the Temporary Agency Work Directive, as far as I can see, is to harmonise the law across the European Union. This is to prevent unfair competition between different member states. For example, if an EU country has loose employment protection while Ireland has strong employment protection, companies will shift their operations, not because the other country is more efficient for doing business but because wage rates are lower. We must be cognisant of this at the present time with the economy as it is. We must ensure fair play across the EU. We cannot afford to see other member states introducing legislation so that business can be done there at an unfair advantage, thereby putting us at a disadvantage. This is especially so as we are on the periphery of Europe and employment is of the utmost importance now, as it will be in future. There is a social function to most European directives. The social function in this one is to ensure a higher standard of living and quality of life.

While the directive provides for equal treatment for agency workers from the first day of employment, there is provision for a derogation within limits by way of collective agreement or by agreement between the national social partners. In effect, the derogation would set out an agreed time limit or qualifying period after which the agency worker would qualify for equal treatment.

As the Minister of State has told the House, agency working plays a useful role in the economy. It helps employers to respond to changing demand and can help employees in terms of greater flexibility, whether in employment or entering the labour force. At the same time, agency work might not suit everybody and we must be wary of unscrupulous behaviour.

I understand the objective of the directive is ultimately to improve the quality of temporary agency work and ensure a smoother functioning of the labour market. I noted the Minister of State's reference to flexibility, which is sought by employers. We must ensure that they have it, but not at the expense of workers.

Agency work is atypical in Ireland, but is more common in the EU. The directive aims to ensure that vulnerable agency workers are typically protected. The temporary agency working sector in Ireland accounts for about 2% of employment. As the Minister of State said, the directive will not change the employment status of agency workers or their entitlements to existing employment rights. Quite rightly, agency workers are protected under employment rights legislation.

I welcome the fact the Minister of State has opened the directive to consultation. In his speech, he did say that such consultation will be broadly based in order to seek the views of all the social pillars. We have until 2011 to ensure that this is done. Following that consultation process, the ensuing legislation will hopefully be strong and to the benefit of all concerned.

The views attained will help fully to inform this process. The consultation will help to identify the constituent elements of pay, beyond basic pay. It should include, for example, overtime and shift work allowances that may be deemed appropriate for inclusion in the contractual entitlements of temporary agency workers to reflect their contribution for work done. These views will assist in the preparation of the necessary implementing legislation. I look forward to welcoming the Minister of State back to the House to discuss it. I thank him for attending the House for this debate. I wish him well in preparing the forthcoming legislation based on the Temporary Agency Work Directive. I am sure the legislation to be presented to this House will ultimately make for good law when enacted.