Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 186: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the working time agreement; when it will come into force here; the consequences it will have; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48060/08]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 187: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the implementation of EU Directive 2003/88/EC on working time here. [48139/08]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 190: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the European Council Directive 2003/88/EC on working time. [1090/09]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 192: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the stage the European Commission's proposal to amend the working time directive, Council Directive 2003/88/EC; the position she will take on the proposed amendment at the European Council; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1150/09]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 186, 187, 190 and 192 together.

After prolonged and detailed discussions on revised proposals over several EU Presidencies, the Council of Ministers at the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council, on 9 June 2008, reached political agreement, by qualified majority, on a Common Position on revised working time rules. Throughout the discussions on this sensitive dossier, Ireland has adopted a pragmatic approach to the negotiations leading to the conclusion of the Council's Common Position. A core aspect of the Common Position relates to the opt-out whereby a worker may agree with his or her employer to work hours which exceed the 48-hour limit, subject to certain protective conditions. Here, the Council supported a continuation of the opt-out but under a series of strengthened protections and a new series of checks and balances. For its part, the European Parliament, in its Plenary Vote, on 17th December 2008, sought the phasing out of the opt-out after three years.

As the Council has not accepted the amendments of the European Parliament, the proposal now passes to conciliation. The Czech Presidency is currently formulating, with Member States, the Council mandate for this next phase. Ireland will continue to adopt a constructive approach in the delicate negotiations ahead on revised working time proposals in an endeavour to reach a successful conclusion with Parliament and a satisfactory compromise solution acceptable to Member States. Along with more than twenty other EU Member States, Ireland has responded to a letter of observations transmitted by the European Commission on the transposition into national law of the Working Time Directive 2003/88/EC, having regard to European Court of Justice (ECJ) case law. Ireland endeavours to meet in full its obligations under Community law and will continue to do so.

Indeed, the revised Council proposals currently for conciliation do endeavour, as was the stated intention of the European Commission who first tabled these proposals, to have regard to the need to review the current Directive, having regard to ECJ case law. The successful completion of the negotiation of revised rules on working time, under the current conciliation phase between Council and Parliament, will allow the European Commission as guardians of the Treaty, to draw their own conclusions on the extent to which legislation in the various Member States correctly transpose the requirements of Directives in this area of activity.