Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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628. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her plans to introduce legislation to implement the recommendations of the University of Limerick study, A Study of the Prevalence of Zero Hour Contracts 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16035/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I am committed to considering an appropriate policy response to the report of the University of Limerick of their study of zero hour contracts and low hour contracts.

As Deputies will be aware, the University of Limerick (UL) was appointed in February 2015 to study the prevalence of zero hour contracts and low hour contracts and their impact on employees. The study, published in November, 2015, found that zero hour contracts as defined within current Irish employment rights legislation are not extensively used in Ireland. It found low working hours can arise in different forms in employment contracts. There are regular part-time contracts with fixed hours or a contract with “If and When” hours only or a hybrid of the two. If and when contracts are contracts where workers are not contractually required to make themselves available for work.

The UL report made a range of recommendations relating to contracts, hours of work and notice, minimum hours, how contracted hours should be determined, collective agreements, data gathering and wider contextual issues.

It is important to point out that the UL study was an independent study and the conclusions drawn and the recommendations made in it are those of UL. Therefore, it was essential to seek the views of stakeholders.

To this end, my Department sought submissions from interested parties by way of a Public Consultation. A large number of submissions were received in response to the consultation. The responses contain a variety of views both for and against the findings and recommendations as made by UL. These responses require, and are currently being given, careful consideration by my Department. The study and the responses to it will be considered by Government with a view to agreeing the actions that should be taken.