Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 8:

In page 6, line 35, after “may,” to insert “by way of regulation by the Minister”.

This section confers extraordinary powers on the Minister to change the terms and conditions of public sector workers. Our amendment seeks to ensure the Minister does this by way of regulation. These powers are unprecedented and provide for different classes of public sector worker to be treated differently at the whim of the Minister of the day. The amendment seeks to ensure the decisions he or she makes are done in a much more formal way. I seriously object to this and other provisions in the section.