Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to continue on the point Senator Norris was making. It is an important point given the industry we are talking about. It is a scandalous industry, because of the privatisation which happened throughout the country with the active support of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. In fairness, that is their ideology and it always has been. It has been a disaster.

I call on the Minister to recall the dispute with Greyhound only two years ago. There were 14 weeks of strikes. Workers were sacked unceremoniously. It was all because the company was trying to impose pay cuts. What we have seen in the waste industry in recent years - since privatisation - is a race to the bottom in terms and conditions in order to reduce costs. This has resulted in squeezing workers at the very margins. I have heard people from Fine Gael talk about the waste industry but I have yet to hear anyone from Fine Gael ever talk about workers' rights. Is that ever going to happen? It is probably not going to happen because, to be fair, it is not on the Fine Gael agenda.