The Tánaiste said “sick leave”. He did not address the question of the stalling of sick pay, a Government promise.

I wish to share time with Deputy Sherlock.

Like much of the public infrastructure in this rich country, our roads, cycleways and footpaths are suffering from chronic underinvestment and, tragically, to an extent, the cost is being measured in the lives of road users. There has been a 30% increase in fatal accidents on our roads to date this year while, at the same time, investment in road infrastructure and road safety measures is falling in real terms. Despite the millions invested in the welcome new active travel projects, local authorities receive no ded…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 8, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “(3) The Agency may, in consultation with a Minister of the Government having functions in relation to a sector of the economy, develop proposals for investment in that sector in order to support economic activity and employment.”. I am sorry for being a little late. I proposed this amendment on Committee Stage and there was a wide-ranging discussion that went beyond my own amendment. I know Deputy Doherty had other significant ame…

The use of non-core expenditure has become a feature of budgets in recent years, and the continued use of this device is concerning not only to me and Members of the House but, as the Minister knows, also to the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, IFAC. Will he explain how he intends to limit the use of this device ahead of budget 2025?

I thank the Minister. Nobody is arguing that we did not have a necessity for additional spending in recent years. The issue is the means by which the Government has presented the spending. The Minister will recall the phrase used by IFAC after budget 2024, when it described the way in which expenditure was presented to the House as a form of "fiscal gimmickry". This was a very serious accusation to make. The Parliament has very limited function in real terms in the making of budgets and holding the Government to ac…

Nobody is arguing that we did not require additional supports for those who are less well-off and those on modest incomes in terms of battling through the cost-of-living crisis. It is how we have presented it in the House. In recent years the budget has been presented in a very opaque way. Many budgetary items described in recent years as "once-off" have, in fact, persisted. This is the issue that IFAC has with the way in which the budget is presented. If we look at the early round of budget kite flying at present,…

Labour fully supports the motion for several reasons. With the increases in fuel duty brought in on 1 April and those planned in August and October, the Government is wilfully piling straws on a straining camel's back as working people in this country continue to struggle with the cost of living. The wording of the motion gets it right: "the Government chose to increase the price of petrol and diesel". It did not need to do so but went ahead and did regardless, despite the impact on those who are struggling to make…

I love my home town of Drogheda. Our small city is really in my DNA and defines me. We have had and still have our problems. Every place does. We always overcome them. We often do so in spite of and not because of Government support. Increasingly, we have had to rely on ourselves to address the problems this Government patently ignores. To give an example, to tackle the social and economic problems that formed the backdrop to a vicious criminal feud, it was me as an Opposition Senator and my colleague, Councillor P…

That is essentially what the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, said to me last week. It seems to me that the only thing standing in the way of including Drogheda in the living city scheme is politics. We meet the criteria for the scheme, which the Minister of State set out. We manifest levels of vacancy and dereliction and higher than average levels of unemployment and deprivation. All of the buildings that need help in places like Narrow West Street, Laurence Street, and where the Minister of State's m…

First, I congratulate Deputy Peter Burke on his appointment as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Ministers of State, Deputies Higgins and Calleary, on their reappointment. Congratulations to all. Is the Minister still committed to the roadmap and the pathway to a living wage, as set out by the Low Pay Commission in its annual report in mid-2023? Is it his intention not to demur from this commitment?

There is no doubt that some small businesses are experiencing difficulties at the moment. There will be challenges for businesses to wean themselves off the kind of corporate welfare that has been available over the last few years to maintain the viability of businesses. However, this should not be done at the expense of low-paid workers. We have a problem with low pay in this country. More than 20% of all workers are on low pay. This is not sustainable and is not something that we should stand over. The establishm…

The ambition of the new Taoiseach to reset the messaging for Fine Gael and to go back to basics, as some people have described it, is worrying for working people across the country. This is especially the case if it is framed through the lens of worker versus business. That should not be the case. Quite frankly, however, that is how the mood music is being set. This is especially the case with comments made in recent weeks about, for example, the question of the extension of modest sick leave proposals to bring us …

That was an excellent report from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and I advise the Minister to read it. This is not the first time this morning that questions were posed on Fine Gael's commitment to modest adjustments to Ireland's sick leave regime. I note the Minister did not give me a straight or direct answer earlier. It would provide some reassurance to workers across the country if he were to restate this morning the commitment that has already been made to introduce broader sick leave arrangements. They ar…

This question is on sick pay.

Will the Minister of State provide an update on the plans to transpose the EU minimum wages directive by the end of the year?

I thank the Minister of State for her response and I noted the engagement earlier with another Deputy on this matter. I spoke about the importance of the national minimum wage, moves to a living wage and setting a higher floor of minimum wage adequacy below which no decent society should allow workers to fall. More important still is the transposition of the collective bargaining element of the EU minimum wages directive. We need enhanced collective bargaining coverage in this country. Fairness for workers can only…

I advise the Minister of State not to rely disproportionately on the efficacy and utility of the JLC system, good and all as it is, for enabling Ireland to reach its obligations under the minimum wages directive, specifically Article 4. The system is important, and I am proud of the role I played in re-establishing its mechanisms, which are important for low-paid workers, but there are restrictions inherent in the joint labour committee system and the areas it is permitted to cover by law are limited. If we are int…

The Cathaoirleach Gníomhach means question No. 2.

On budget night the Labour Party moved a motion to seek a deferral of the planned excise duty increases pushed on punters at the pumps, at least until budget 2025 next October. On budget night the Minister, Deputy Ryan, refused to accept the Labour Party amendment to the motion and we have seen excise duties rise at the pumps on 1 April - "April fuels day", as it was dubbed by Pat Flanagan in the Sunday Mirror . We have seen that increase in April and we will see a further increase in August. I am making the case t…