Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I put on record Sinn Féin's support for this recommendation. It is a pity that whenever the issue of collective bargaining comes, up all we ever hear from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael is "Well, yes, but now is not the right time". It was not the right time in the past four years of Fine Gael Government, supported by Fianna Fáil. It is not the right time today. I suppose it depends on one's philosophy and if one believes that we just need a return to normal and have masses of low-paid workers. Ireland has the largest number of low-paid workers of any country in the EU. It depends on whether one thinks it is okay to have masses of private sector companies in circumstances where joining a trade union means a person loses his or her job, such as, for example, a nursing home worker in one of the private nursing homes. Senator D'Arcy is shaking his head. I worked as a trade union official and I assure the House that when I organised workers in nursing homes, as soon as the employer found out, they were fired. Given this as an example, I do not think it is okay to just throw money at employers. It is very reasonable to include a requirement that workers should have rights in their workplace, but, of course, it is never the right time to do that.

I was interested in how the Minister of State responded. He indicated that he understands where Senator Bacik is coming from but that provision cannot be made in this Bill. Maybe the Minister of State will tell us what his plans are to legislate for collective bargaining. Of course, he does not have any.