Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, and thank him for his time at the Oireachtas meeting yesterday and in the Chamber today.

As has been outlined by most Senators, including Senator Ahearn, it is very positive to see collective bargaining continuing to work in the construction sector. We all need the sector to be as healthy as possible, given our reliance on it to face some of the greatest challenges for the country,.

As the House is aware, I believe this is the fourth SEO for the construction sector since the first one was introduced in 2017. Over recent years it seems they have largely worked smoothly and have ensured stability within the construction sector. Many people within the sector are paid above the rate and, as Senator McDowell has outlined, it is a floor. As the Minister of State has highlighted, the inclusion of legally binding dispute procedures is especially important and will ensure any disputes that arise in the sector can be addressed effectively and fairly.

These are minimum payment terms and, as the Minister of State will appreciate because it came up yesterday, the Irish Plant Contractors Association has outlined its belief that our enforcement system needs to be overhauled and reformed. Do we need to strengthen the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, further and to enhance its resources by way of employing more inspectors? I would be grateful to hear the Minister of State's views on that issue.

The Minister of State will also be aware that another issue raised in the submissions to the Labour Court was that while other sectors recruit from abroad and from outside the EU, the current critical skills occupations list and ineligible occupations list make it more difficult for the construction industry to do so. Obviously, the primary focus of the SEO is to ensure the workers who are currently here are treated fairly and we all want to ensure that is the case. Given the need for a construction sector with as many workers as possible to meet our housing demand, perhaps the Minister of State might envisage something by which the Department would consider making it easier for employees to be hired from abroad for the sector by making some changes to the current critical skills occupations List.

Overall, I am very supportive of the SEO and welcome it as a step in the right direction.