Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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67. To ask the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment further to Parliamentary Questions on 14 July 2020, the reason for his refusal to agree to bring forward new legislation to protect the pay and conditions of workers affected by the recently struck down sectoral employment order; and his advice to new entrant workers and workers moving between employers whose pay and conditions are now under threat. [17144/20]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As set out in the House on July 9^thand again on 14^th, following discussion with Minister English and consultation with the Attorney General, it has been decided to appeal the High Court decision which maintains that the legislative framework governing the SEO process is unconstitutional because it delegates law making powers to others outside the legislature.

We have compelling grounds to appeal the ruling. The outcome of the Appeal will provide the legislative certainty that is required for us to secure robust and compliant wage setting mechanisms in law. It is premature to address this is issue by way of legislation.

This is an area of legislation that has proven very litigious over the past fifteen years. The Industrial Relations Act 2015 was a major piece of legislation that sought to deal with the important constitutional issues in question. I am hopeful that the appeal will confirm that the Oireachtas got it right in 2015.