Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

In recent days, we have seen the appalling extension of the bloodthirst of the Israeli Government. Approximately 41,500 children, women and men are dead in Gaza and the death toll in Lebanon is rising as we speak. The apparent crusade to wipe out Hezbollah and Hamas is a genocide. We have used that word many times, yet the world is still looking on. The UN General Assembly is taking place this week. The UN and the EU were both established as peace projects. I am struck by the number of people who raise this situation on the doorsteps in our communities and ask what we are doing. What will we tell our children in ten years’ time about when we did to stop this genocide? Even now, the Israeli state is subjecting its own citizens to a special state of affairs in terms of banning gatherings, although that is a minor matter compared with the slaughter inflicted. Our country needs to stand tall and take a leadership role, particularly in the EU now that we have a new Commissioner. We need to prevail upon the President of the European Commission about how, as a peace project, the EU needs to do much more. We cannot allow this to continue.

I looked in detail at the Government’s legislative agenda last week. It was with great disappointment that I noted the Government had effectively ignored the bogus self-employment problem that has existed in this country for many years. A landmark Supreme Court judgment in October 2023 effectively deemed Domino's Pizza drivers as employees. It was the Revenue Commissioners who took that case. On foot of the judgment, we called for the Government to legislate to make who should be an employee clear to workers. People should be employees by default but be able to opt out in genuine cases of self-employment. During the summer, Mr. Matt McGranaghan – a musician and campaigner on bogus self-employment rights – went to great lengths to prove his employee status.He was subjected to disgraceful treatment by his employer and very serious and questionable conduct by the scope section of the Department of Social Protection. I normally have great things to say about the scope section but, unfortunately, his claim to that section was appealed. There is now a very serious issue of the Government turning a blind eye to bogus self-employment in this country. There is a Supreme Court action and a WRC case. We need to see action by this Government.