Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is as clear as the nose on my face that the legislation on sectoral employment orders seeks to ensure fairness and the same rate of remuneration. This is a requirement to reach an SEO or for an SEO to be made. That takes into account rates of pay and the fairness of rates of pay in a given sector. This architecture has been supported by the trade union movement, which has not found fault in it. I very much welcome that support for the legislation.

The fact that we are introducing sectoral employment orders soon after the old registered employment agreement architecture was struck down by the Supreme Court is an illustration of the Government's commitment to address the pay issue. We see it in a balanced way. We need to be competitive and ensure that businesses can grow and not only survive but thrive, because we need businesses to create jobs. However, we also need to ensure that the rates of pay in our economic sectors are fair and sustainable. We have to take a balanced approach.

No one can say this Government is not mindful of the need to ensure that there are decent rates of pay in the economy. That is reflected in the fact that we have set up the Low Pay Commission, introduced collective bargaining legislation in the context of this Bill and that we are introducing a new SEO and REA system. This is not happening anywhere else in Europe.

It would have been easy for the Government to take the view after an unprecedented economic crisis that we would hollow out our employment protections and throw low-paid workers to the wolves, but we have not done that. In fact what we have done is to the contrary and that has been recognised internationally. We did not take that option, as other countries have. Other countries have been subject to troika programmes. We have done exactly the opposite and we should acknowledge that. That is not to say there are no challenges. My only regret is that I have only had a year to do some of this work. I would have preferred five years and I look forward to completing my agenda in the next term.