Gerald Nash (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I do. Section 2 defines, in our opinion, an employment relationship and seeks to make exceptions for those who are genuinely self-employed, in other words, who are in business of their own account. I understand what the Minister is saying in that additional work may need to be done on that to tighten it up but she understands the intention of the section and all of the language around that.

I am particularly heartened by the fact that she acknowledged in her opening statement that one of the areas we need to get serious about is putting into statute effectively what the code of practice tries to prevent happening. The code of practice itself served a purpose at a time and place. It was agreed by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, IBEC and other players as well but given the experience in the construction industry in particular, and across other sectors of the economy, the code of practice is insufficient for authorities to make decisions regarding the employment status of an individual. However, the language has considerable merit. We have drawn heavily from the noted Dutch case in terms of the determination of employment status - bogus self-employment and so on - and taking all of that into account I believe we can work together to try to nuance and finesse the Bill to strengthen this section and subsequent sections, which may need some work to ensure they work for everybody. I note what the Minister is saying and what she is trying to achieve. There is some common ground in this regard. We may differ on some elements of it and I am happy to work with her on that in the future.