Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am not going to take up all of my time. There is no point repeating a lot that has been said already. This is good legislation. It is part of what the Government is doing on workers' rights. The public is way ahead of us on this. Most people make a serious effort when they are in a restaurant to make sure the staff get their tips. One of the problems that has arisen is that while we are moving more into being a cashless society, people are a bit slow to get the tip added on to their card. It is only beginning to happen now. I have a bit of experience with this. One of our children is still in college and has a holiday job. One has just moved out of that. They noticed that the more it went over to card, the fewer tips they got, but it is beginning to improve now. The vast majority of people who own restaurants or manage hotels are ensuring nowadays the workers get their tips. I am hearing my own children say this nowadays. They say that usually the person on the floor who is in charge is left in charge of the tips, not the owner. The owners in many respects make that decision.

Some very valid points have been made. Everyone in this Chamber wants to ensure people get their tips. I have a massive issue about people not getting their tips.I do not think we should be painting a picture that we have a massive problem with this nowadays, because we do not. Nevertheless, I acknowledge that where there are shortcomings and where people do not pass on these tips, we need the legislation and we need to deal with it. It is a good Bill. I welcome the fact that Adrian Cummins, head of the Restaurants Association of Ireland has welcomed it and that restaurants will engage and make sure that the practice is carried out in restaurants. I know that most of the restaurants and hotels in my area are treating their staff properly. I agree that it was a different story some years back. I used to get a lot more complaints about this issue ten or 12 years ago, but I am glad to say it is not as big a problem now. By having the statutory element in place, workers will be protected. It is the right way to do business. This has been a very good engagement today and I thank the Tánaiste for being here. Like others, I support what he is trying to do here.