Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This amendment also concerns a report. It asks for a report on workers' rights. I touched on some of the logic and thinking behind this in my previous commentary on seasonal work. The report would look at "the terms, conditions and remuneration afforded to workers holding regular permits and seasonal permits broken down by sectoral employment". I wish to highlight the issue of examining what the terms and conditions are for those with regular permits and those with seasonal permits, in order to have that comparator, a piece that looks comparatively at that situation and, crucially, a breakdown by sector. As I highlighted, and I make no apologies for doing so, the hospitality sector was one of the first to jump on board with poor practices in terms of insecure hours contracts in the country. We know there have been concerns about other practices, such as false self-employment and other areas. Some of the gig economy companies and even the construction sector have led the way in that.A comparative analysis that looks at regular permits and seasonal permits broken down by sector will allow us to identify when we have a trend within a sector and flag it at an early stage before it spreads and becomes a poor practice across many sectors. This allows us to ensure we have a robust system and that we are not coming in after the fact when significant damage has been done but to keep ahead of these.

We know some people will seek to exploit loopholes and then there will be exploitation of loopholes that will become standardised. That then becomes the business advice and what everyone else does. We need to be early in identifying patterns and taking remedial action. I urge the Minister of State to consider having that comparative analysis early, within 12 months. I know we will not have this Oireachtas for another 12 months, but I urge her to schedule it or start it even before then because it is the kind of thing that will allow us to make informed decisions in the next Oireachtas.