Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am afraid we are on similar grounds to the previous amendment.

The amendments to the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 that have been proposed by the Senator would also constitute a substantial rather than a procedural amendment to that legislation. As I have already stated in response to the previous amendments, substantive changes to employment rights legislation such as that proposed by the Senator in this amendment fall outside of the scope of the present Bill. Therefore, I am not going to accept these amendments.

In relation to the Senator's proposed amendment to the Payment of Wages Act 1991, I wish to confirm that section 7(2)(b) of that Act relates to procedural matters concerning the appeal of the decision of a Rights Commissioner to the Employment Appeals Tribunal under that legislation. The Workplace Relations Bill 2014 makes provision for the incorporation of the new appeals structures in the Labour Court in all employment rights legislation, including the Payment of Wages Act 1991, and, as a consequence, the provisions of section 7(2)(b) of that Act have been repealed by this Bill. Accordingly, this amendment is a procedural rather than a substantive amendment to the Payment of Wages Act 1991.