Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I take on board what the Minister of State said. We have designed this Bill on existing legislation in Ontario, which has been in place now for a couple of years and no issues have no arisen. This Bill is almost identical to that legislation. The Minister of State said that there is a danger of us being overly prescriptive. That is not what we want to do and I do not think we should do that. There are two key aspects to the Bill. First, it seeks to give legal rights to the employees in question in regard to tips and I welcome the positive commentary in this regard from across the Chamber. We are all in agreement that this needs to happen. Second, the Bill provides for transparency for the consumer. I take on board Senator Horkan's comment about the need for a lead-in time in regard to this provision. The way forward could be for the information to be provided on a notice board rather than on a menu, for example. This issue could be easily addressed.

I look forward to working with the Minister and the Department on the Bill. There is no need to be overly prescriptive. This is legislation that works easily in Ontario. We know that the British Government has also acknowledged it needs to address the issue in the UK. If the maddest, most ridiculous Tory Government can recognise that something needs to be done to protect employees, we should be able to reach agreement on the issue.