Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the SIPTU representative to the Gallery and thank all the unions and others for their research and input into the Bill. First, I thank my colleague, Senator Paul Gavan, and Barry Kearney for their work on the Bill. I also acknowledge the work of Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh in bringing this Bill to Seanad and for all the research work he has done.

Legislation of this type, which can have a positive effect on people's lives, involves a lot of outreach and consultation with interested parties. Senator Gavan has done that in spades during the preparation of the Bill. Notwithstanding what the Minister of State, Deputy Breen, has said, I hope the Government takes notice of the many other solutions that we as a party are more than happy to have discussed in this House at any time, not solely during our own Private Members' business periods.

This is an opportunity to do the right thing. I accept what the Minister of State said but I have major concerns with his response and the stated aim of having the Low Pay Commission deal with the issue. He acknowledged that it is a good Bill and that he will not oppose it. The Minister of State referred to what the British are doing. So often with legislation and other issues in this country, we wait for the British to do something and then we decide what we are going to do. The Bill is very innovative and simple. It would avoid disputes. The Minister of State listed legislation that offer remedies to right disputes between employees and employers, but the fact is that no employee wants to be in dispute with his or her employer. The simple legislation we propose would fix an existing problem that we are aware of through the research carried out and the people to whom we have spoken in the consultation process that took place. If enacted, the Bill will do exactly what it says on the tin.

If the Minister of State proceeds as he has outlined, I am afraid the issue will get buried with all the other issues that are being considered by the Low Pay Commission. I get calls every day, as I am sure do my colleagues and others, from people who are affected by banded-hour contracts and zero-hour contracts among other issues. We talk about those issues and we do various reports but the pace of the implementation of legislation is far too slow. Many people who are on banded-hour contracts would love to have bought their own homes had they had the employment security a couple of years ago. The opportunity to do so has now gone way out of their grasp. That is why I believe time is of the essence.

As someone who goes to restaurants, I would love to have transparency on tips. Tips are given according to the type of service one gets. Like every other person, I want to see the tip going to the workers. If I want to pay extra to the establishment, then I would pay over and above for what I got, but the tip is specifically for the workers and it must remain that way.

Senator Gavan acknowledged that there are excellent employers. The vast majority of them fall into that category. Many employers along the western seaboard struggle during the year to pay their bills, yet the vast majority of them treat their employees in the right way. This legislation is not for them but it is intended to protect the most vulnerable workers. Employers need to see the economic folly of not allowing employees to keep their tips because, at the end of the day, the tips are a motivation for employees, be it a hairdresser or a person working in a restaurant or bar, to give the best possible service. That way, one gets increased customer satisfaction and return customers and a correspondingly increased turnover. Keeping tips is a foolish thing.

I could say much more but I urge the Minister of State to let the Bill to proceed through the next Stages. I do not see any anomalies but if they exist, they could be picked up as the Bill progresses in the same way as other Bills. I accept what the Minister of State said about the expertise of the Low Pay Commission, but it could also feed into the process as expert witnesses in order that we can complete the progress of the Bill as quickly as we can. That would benefit not only the employee but also the employer and the entire industry if there are happy workers who are looked after, which would allow us to have pride in our industries. We can lead the way instead of waiting to see what the British do.