Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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131. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the status of the commitment in the Statement of Government Priorities 2014-2016 to conduct a study on the prevalence of zero hour contracts among Irish employers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44350/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm that in accordance with the Statement of Government priorities, my colleague the Minister for Business and Employment, Ged Nash TD, issued on Monday 17 November a call for tenders to carry out a study into the prevalence of zero hour and low hour contracts and the impact of such contracts on employees.

The tender can be accessed on the Government’s website www.etenders.gov.ie.

The deadline for applications is 15 December 2014. It is expected that the study will commence early in the New Year and will report back its findings to Minister Nash by quarter two.

A key objective of the study is to fill the gap that currently exists in terms of hard data on zero hour and low hour contracts. It is expected to collect information on the extent of these contracts, the manner in which they are used and also to look at recent developments in other jurisdictions, particularly in the UK.

All sectors of the economy, both public and private, will come within the scope of the study; however, a particular focus will be on the retail, hospitality, education and health sectors. The study will also focus on how these contracts operate in practice and particularly on how they impact on employees. It will assess the advantages and disadvantages from the perspective of employer and employee and assess the current employment rights legislation as it applies to employees on such contracts.

It is also expected that stakeholders including employers, employees, employer representative bodies, trade unions and Government Departments will be canvassed to contribute to the study.