Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 132: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the position regarding the EU directive on temporary agency work, now in effect, and when he expects it to be implemented; the application date in respect of the payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1683/12]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I can advise the Deputy that EU Directive 2008/104/EC on Temporary Agency Work was adopted in 2008 with a transposition date of 5 December 2011. At its core, the Directive aims to afford protection to temporary agency workers by extending the principle of equal treatment to their basic working and employment conditions.

In terms of transposition of the Directive into Irish law, a Bill entitled Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Bill 2011 was published on 16 December, 2011. This is a priority Bill for my Department and is being progressed with a view to early enactment in the Houses of the Oireachtas in 2012. The Bill commenced Second stage in the Dáil on Wednesday 11th January and Committee Stage of the Bill is provisionally scheduled for Tuesday 24 January 2012. It is intended that, when enacted, the Bill will, with the exception of the provisions that create offences, have retrospective effect to the Directive transposition date i.e. 5 December, 2011. This means in effect that from 5 December 2011, temporary agency workers employed by employment agencies and assigned to work with a hirer are entitled to equal treatment in basic working and employment conditions in the same way as if they were directly recruited by the hirer to the same job.