Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As Leader of the House I extend a very warm welcome to Mr. David Begg as general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. In welcoming him to the House today, we acknowledge the significance of the 1913 Lock-out and the events surrounding it as moments of great importance in our history. It is very important that during the decade of commemorations we will have over the next ten years, historical events such as the 1913 Lock-out are commemorated.

As Mr. Begg stated, the Lock-out was an unprecedented event in Ireland, both in measure and intensity, and to this day remains the largest industrial conflict in Irish history. Leading personalities, such as Larkin, Connolly and Countess Markievicz, showed exceptional charisma, courage and credence in their cause. The Lock-out brought thousands of Irish men and women out on the streets of Dublin to assert their rights. Recently I heard a radio programme which suggested that the establishment was very much against the idea of trade unionism, and as the Irish Parliamentary Party was elected by people of property, no support could be expected for trade unionism from that quarter.

However, recently I read a speech delivered by John Redmond at the turn of the century in Ballybricken in Waterford, a place where, as Waterford people would say, I was born, bred and reared myself. These were the words of John Redmond at the turn of the century:

I therefore am strongly in favour of the principle of trade unionism. I would appeal to the labouring classes of Waterford to strengthen their organisation, act with due regard to the general interests of the community and with moderation, good sense and reason. I am in favour of the limitation wherever possible, of hours of labour. Every reasonable demand made on behalf of the labour movement has my support - seeing that the rate of wages is a rate which will enable men to live, educate and bring up their families, seeing that the class of labour employed is a legitimate class and I believe in the strict enforcement of this and the preventing of excursive employment of the young.

These were strong words from Redmond at a time when such support would have been frowned upon by the ruling classes and the establishment of the time, but I am glad they were delivered on my home turf in Ballybricken.

I listened with interest to the debate in the other House on the Lock-out on which some excellent contributions were made. We decided to go one step further and invite Mr. Begg, as general secretary of ICTU, to come to this House. I compliment him on an excellent and much appreciated presentation. We have come a long way since 1913. The modern Irish workforce is very fortunate to benefit from progressive and protective workplace regulations. Workers here are privileged to work in a country where their rights are well respected and where there are stable structures in place to safeguard their rights when points of contention are raised. The role of trade unions must also be acknowledged when speaking about workers' rights in this regard.

The role of organisations such as the ICTU is fundamental to educating workers on their rights, safeguarding those rights and liaising with the Government and relevant bodies on behalf of working people. In Ireland, we have had a model of social partnership that has served us well and kept industrial unrest to a bare minimum for a long number of years.

Indeed, the leadership shown by the trade unions since the beginning of the recession has been exemplary. While ICTU advocated for its members to protect their terms and conditions, it also took cognisance of the spending reality facing the State. It is fair to say that the Croke Park and the Haddington Road agreements have facilitated the necessary adjustments without the unrest and the disruption to public services that we have witnessed in other European counties.

I reiterate my thanks to David Begg for coming here and for his most interesting and informative address. I wish him well in the further commemorations of the Lock-out event and in his future work.