Máire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Workers own this country - not businesses, not multinational corporations nor TTIP or CETA but the people - and they deserve decent pay. Fine Gael acted with arrogance in the last Government but its strength has been diminished and it now has to answer to its masters, Fianna Fáil. The Labour Party compromised itself and was unable to act against the might of Fine Gael. It watched gutsy Dunnes Stores workers take to the picket line in 2015 demanding an end to zero-hour and if-and-when contracts.

We took up this fight. I and my colleagues stood with the Dunnes Stores workers who were vilified and threatened with humiliation. As they did on the issue of Nelson Mandela, Dunnes Stores workers stood firm and they have educated this country, not just on apartheid but on zero-hour contracts and the need for respect for workers in this country. They all sat there in July and voted down the banded hours contract Bill put forward by our workers' rights spokesperson, Deputy David Cullinane. At least they are trying to make amends today.

Fianna Fáil kicked the Sinn Féin legislation down the road for 12 months but it has become a master at that. I do not think Fianna Fáil has the cause of workers in its heart but just goes after what is popular.