Departmental Policies
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-28
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Peter Burke (FG), Longford-Westmeath

I have pointed out how we are improving the competitiveness of the economy, which is critical to ensuring we keep attracting jobs. We have about 2.83 million people working in our economy right now, which is a record. All 13 sectors of the economy are growing. That is not me saying that. It is the CSO, which is the gold standard. Real wage growth increased past inflation last year. Again, that is the CSO report, which is there for everyone to see. That shows there are very strong opportunities within the economy that is growing.
In relation to Deputy Conway-Walsh's colleague in Northern Ireland proposing to ban zero-hour contracts, we have done it. They are proposing to bring in tips legislation; we have done that. They are proposing to improve the work-life balance; we have done that already. So, a number of the initiatives that have been brought forward in the Deputy's colleague's Bill have already been acted on in this State's jurisdiction. We also brought forward the action plan on collective bargaining in advance of the target within the EU, and I made the commitment, irrespective of the European Court of Justice case, that I would accelerate it and bring it in. That is a strong testament to workers right across the economy.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:52+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-28