Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 103: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the position regarding the operation of fixed term employment legislation which was introduced to protect employees being employed on annual contracts; the number of staff who are likely to lose their jobs in 2010; if it is a correct interpretation of the Act; if the relevant section can be set aside by order for the duration of the moratorium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28103/10]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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At its core, the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003, provides that a fixed term contract employee shall not be treated less favourably than a comparable permanent employee in respect of conditions of employment including pay and pensions. In addition, the Act provides that in the case of a fixed-term employee recruited after the enactment of the Act, if he or she is employed by his or her employer or associated employer on two or more continuous fixed-term contracts, the aggregate duration of such contracts shall not exceed four years after which, if the contract is renewed again, it is deemed to be a contract of indefinite duration unless the employer has objective grounds for renewing the contracts again on a fixed-term basis.

The terms of the Act are applicable in both the private and the public sectors with the exception, in the case of the public sector, of a small number of categories of employees. If a fixed-term employee feels that he or she is being treated less favourably as regards conditions of employment, or if he or she is entitled to a contract of indefinite duration and if his or her employer refuses to concede this, it is open to him or her to refer the matter to a Rights Commissioner for adjudication. I am satisfied that the protections afforded employees under the terms of the 2003 Act remain relevant.

There is no provision in the Act for suspension by Order of any its provisions to take account of a moratorium in public sector recruitment. Matters concerned with the renewal of fixed-term contracts and/or contracts of indefinite duration in respect of individual public sector employees are matters in the first instance for the public sector employer concerned and, as appropriate, the parent Government Department in consultation as necessary with the Department of Finance.