Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. It is an honour to support Senator Feargal Quinn’s Bill. Last night the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government indicated we consumed 145 litres of water per person per day. Some 82% of this water is for drinking, sanitation and the washing of dishes, etc. One can imagine that a cessation of the supply of water would soon lead to health problems as people would be unable to flush toilets or wash themselves or their dishes. The supply of water is vital.

Owing to the recent strike threat referred to by Senator Feargal Quinn, we have addressed the issue of the supply of electricity. There are so many continuous-process industries that the Minister has been so active in promoting in recent years, following on the work of previous Ministers. The high-tech sector needs a continuous supply of electricity. Food would be wasted very quickly in the food sector if we did not have power for refrigeration, which is part and parcel of retailing and the activity of every hotel.

We have a 24 hour economy. I was talking to the Minister some days ago and noted he had been to so many places. These places link up with us 24 hours a day. This is needed and we cannot say we are shutting down for a number of hours because we are supplying electricity only in zone B, for example. We must link up with industries on the west coast of the United States that want us to be operational and send them data and supplies when needed.

Our reputation is important. We have had to build it up in so many fields because of the financial collapse and the collapse of banking. We should consider how much damage was done in Belfast because of the flag protest. Shopkeepers in Belfast tell me that sales decrease significantly when such a protest occurs. We do not need to return to the bad old days. We progressed from having a strike problem to having one of the best records. Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern who is not often praised and thanked nowadays did a notable job in changing an unacceptable industrial relations record to one that allowed us to be proud of our reputation. Our reputation is important, given that so many of us have had to leave the country in recent times. A reputation as hard workers precedes those moving to Canada, the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. We are at risk if the two vital supplies Senator Feargal Quinn mentioned are at risk.

There is a right to strike and picket, but this stems from an era in which we had much more exploitative employers. All of the State's industrial relations machinery provides for a much more co-operative experience than heretofore. Senator Feargal Quinn asks that the striking parties have a skeleton staff available to provide vital services such as water and electricity. We do not want to harm innocent bystanders, nor do we want the so-called law of unintended consequences that would have a small dispute affect the whole macro-economy, leaving everyone worse off.

Industrial relations evolve and become much less confrontational and much less based on exploitative employers such as those of 100 years ago in 1913. I am glad that this evolution has been happening in the time I have been examining the economy. Formerly, employees worked in dreadful conditions in coal mines and so on. Through the success of Governments, the trade union movement's powers of advocacy and politicians improving social services all the time, we have evolved from the world in which now traditional industrial relations laws of 100 years ago had to be framed to protect workers. The legislation proposed is to protect society as a whole from the unintended consequences, as well as to protect innocent bystanders. It is to ensure patients in hospitals, children, food stocks, the national reputation and the ability of high-tech industries to continue to attract investment and employ people on a 24 hour basis would be protected. Strikes that would do damage in all of these areas do not really solve problems. We have many other ways of solving problems. We are asking that, when problems arise, the plug not be pulled on the water supply as it would have serious consequences for the country as a whole.

The Bill is an important contribution to bringing industrial relations to another stage of consultation, without damaging third parties and innocent bystanders. We escaped from the brink ten days or so ago. I commend the Minister, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, for his work in that regard. We should discuss matters in Parliament, however, because people say the Dáil and the Seanad are irrelevant. This was a very important issue and we should be prepared, with the proper machinery, to deal with the problem if it arises again. We should have a consultative framework in place to prevent huge losses among innocent bystanders. Senator Feargal Quinn is to be commended for his initiative in bringing forward the Bill which I am proud to support.