David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I would like to continue with my contribution uninterrupted. The Minister will have an opportunity to respond later. It must be a source of embarrassment for some trade unions that they are in some way affiliated to the Labour Party, given what the Minister is doing in introducing this Bill and the erosion of workers' rights it involves. Does the Minister not realise that those rights, including the working week, were hard fought for? Trade unions had to fight for those rights every step of the way against previous governments. Increments, pay itself and overtime rates are all gains that were hard fought for by working people and they are now being set aside by the Government.

The public sector at the moment is creaking. We know what is happening in our hospitals. Morale is low among front-line nurses and doctors, and the same is true for teachers and local authority workers. Ordinary working people in the public sector have taken average pay cuts of approximately 14%. It is unsustainable for the Government to continue to come back and take from their pockets.

I will come to the substance of the Bill and the alternatives so that the Senators on the other side might learn something. Senator Clune talked about getting our house in order, the tax wedge, foreign direct investment, etc. It is always the same argument that we should not talk about taxes when it comes to foreign direct investment.