Gerald Nash (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Mary Mitchell O’Connor. I join Senator Bacik in welcoming activists from SIPTU, Irish Equity, the Musicians' Union of Ireland, the National Union of Journalists. There are also representatives present from ICTU, who have campaigned very actively for several years to have this matter addressed comprehensively. I really hope the tenacity and way in which they have campaigned for reform in this area, as reflected in this Bill, are given due recognition. I hope the legislation will be enacted swiftly because it is important.

I wish to reflect a little on section 2, the substantive part of the Bill that concerns us most. I wish to outline how the provisions of the Bill, if enacted, can improve the working and living standards of those working on a freelance basis in the arts and culture sector and also in the media. There is a long and difficult history attached to this issue, to which Senator Bacik has referred. I was anxious to ensure there would be some substantive movement on this issue. That has been the case in recent months. The predecessor of the Minister supported moves by the previous Government to put this issue on the legislative agenda to support Senator Ivana Bacik’s Bill in January. We have now moved it on to Committee Stage, on which we can have proper analysis. Our analysis throughout the legislative process will ensure that thee legislation does exactly what it is intended for.

On section 2, it is worth saying these legislative provisions do not in any way seek to bestow any new rights on anyone. The section merely seeks to restore rights that were previously enjoyed by freelance workers in advance of the decision of-----