Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 142: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment her plans to introduce legislation regarding collective bargaining and agency workers. [30833/08]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 161: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress made with regard to the implementation of the Temporary Agency Workers Directive, agreed at the Council of Ministers meeting on 23 May 2008; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30911/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 142 and 161 together.

The issue of employee representation was considered in the context of the recent Social Partnership talks. In that context, the draft Agreement provides for the establishment of a review process which will consider the legal and other steps which are required to enable the mechanisms which were established under previous agreements to operate as they had been intended. The review is to be completed by the end of March 2009 with a view to enactment of the necessary legislation in June 2009.

The Employment Agency Regulation Bill will repeal and replace the Employment Agency Act 1971. The purpose of the Bill is to provide for updated regulation of the employment agency sector including licensing of employment agencies. Adherence to a code of practice setting out standards for the sector will be a condition of qualifying for a licence. The Bill will also provide for the establishment of a Monitoring and Advisory Committee, which will include representatives of the Social Partners, and which will have the task of drawing up the code of practice.

I intend to publish the Bill before the end of 2008.

Ministers of twenty-seven EU Member States reached political agreement at the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council on 9/10 June 2008, on the long-standing issue of the Temporary Agency Work Directive. The Council Common Position on this Directive will now be submitted to the European Parliament, as foreseen by the co-decision procedure.

As the Directive is at present at draft stage, action in relation to its transposition into Irish law can only commence after its adoption and in this connection the draft Directive provides for its transposition into national legislation within a period of three years of its adoption.