A review of this issue is under way. The Deputy will know as well as I do that it is not as simple as providing extra judges. We need to make sure there is court space and the court staff required to enable judges to do their job. We need to make sure that, if there are going to be additional judges and Courts Service staff, we see an improvement in the length of time it takes people to get through the courts system. I was a member of the Government that established the Court of Appeal. We did that on the basis tha…

My understanding is that more than 70,000 healthcare workers have already received the pandemic bonus payment of €1,000. It is quite straightforward in the case of direct employees of the HSE who work in a clinical setting. It is more complicated in other cases. I do not know the exact circumstances with regard to Ennis Hospital but if the Deputy wants to pass the details on to my office, I will make sure the issue is followed up on.

I am familiar with the issue and have been lobbied on it by some childcare providers in my constituency. While I know the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, is examining the matter, I do not have an update on it at the moment.

Do I have it right in that this is the grouping of amendments Nos. 1 and 2?

As I understand it, this group of amendments seeks to classify tips and gratuities as a gift from a customer. The Deputy's purpose is to extend the tax treatment of personal gifts to tips and gratuities received in the course of employment, which would mean that they would be liable for capital acquisitions tax, rather than income tax. Having considered this issue and consulted with the Revenue Commissioners, while a tip may be perceived as a gift in the sense that it is a voluntary payment, it is in fact a reward …

I thank the Deputies. We made a very significant change in this legislation as it developed on foot of the debate in the Seanad in particular but also the debate here. The original plan was proprietors or employers would just need to be clear about what a mandatory service charge was and where the money went. We have changed that now in this law. When this law is passed and fully commenced, a mandatory service charge must be treated in the same way a tip or gratuity would be. It cannot be used to make up basic wage…

I thank the Deputy for explaining the intention of the amendment. My understanding is it would place an obligation on employers to comply where it may not make sense to do so. The provisions of the Bill will be applied by means of ministerial regulation where it is appropriate to do so and in consultation with representative organisations representing both employers and employees. The regulations will apply to sectors where tips and gratuities are a regular feature and where there is often significant customer unce…

If I can give reassurance to the Deputy, I hope and anticipate I will be the Minister who is signing these regulations in a few weeks' time or a few months' time. I want to be very clear the regulations will apply to the hospitality sector, including restaurants, hotels, cafes, pubs etc. I also intend they should apply to personal services where people often leave a tip, for example a barber, hairdresser or beautician, and also to platform workers. That is the intention here. Of course, future Ministers could exten…

I acknowledge at the outset that tip theft is a problem. It is real, and we would not be introducing this legislation if it was not. We do not have reliable data as to how common it is or if it is more common in the case of electronic tips or cash tips but we think it is more likely to be common in the case of electronic tips because they go through the books, if you like, of the employer and proprietor who controls the money. When a tip is in cash, it is controlled by the staff most of the time and never goes thro…

I thank the Deputies for their contributions. I have some sympathy with the arguments being made. I have given this matter some consideration and discussed it with my officials and advisers. The advice I have is that it would not be practical to enforce this particular provision. I refer to the report of the Low Pay Commission in that regard. It is also possible that the circumstances the Deputies describe where people would be willing to swear an affidavit to say that money was stolen from them is already covered …

Amendments Nos. 6, 13 and 16 would require the employer to negotiate and obtain an agreement of employees on the matter of the distribution of tips and gratuities. As it stands, the Bill provides that the employer must consult their employees. It also establishes a legal entitlement for workers to receive their tips and gratuities paid in electronic form with the provision that these tips and gratuities should be paid out to workers in fair and transparent manner. Requiring the employer to obtain the agreement of t…

I understand and appreciate the intentions behind the amendments. However, I cannot accept them for two reasons. The requirement that the consent of all employees would be required for a change in policy is too onerous. We are not talking about a majority here; we are talking about unanimity. I just do not think that is a practical provision when it comes to amendments Nos. 6, 13 and 16, to have a situation whereby the employer and the vast majority of employees want a certain policy and a blocking minority or even…

I hear what the Deputies are saying in respect of this being about theft and robbed money. I agree with that assessment, by the way. If money is intended for a person but another person takes it, that is larceny. I would be curious to know whether any complaints have been taken to An Garda Síochána or whether there have been any investigations under larceny provisions and what the case law is in that regard. I do not know if there have been such cases. What we are dealing with here is employment law. In the context…

I move: That Dáil Éireann, pursuant to Article 29.5.2° of Bunreacht na hÉireann, approves the terms of the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects, signed by the Government of Ireland on 29th March, 1972, and laid before Dáil Éireann on 29th June, 2022.

It has been a long debate - I have been here for almost all of it - and it has been a good one. In the limited time I have, I wish to make three points. First, the motion of no confidence tabled by Sinn Féin is a deeply cynical and nakedly political one. It is pointless. The Government has a clear working majority and that will be evident from the vote tonight. Those in Sinn Féin, often master tacticians, have made a tactical error here-----

-----because their motion has allowed us to demonstrate tonight that we have a clear working majority, we will be able to pass a budget and that this Government can and will last the full term. We will prove by the vote tonight that there is no prospect of a Sinn Féin-led Government-----

-----this year, next year or the year after, and maybe not even the year after that.

This is a show motion. It is a publicity stunt designed to get coverage and air time for Sinn Féin politicians who have no real solutions to the problems our country faces - just snappy soundbites that tested well with their expensive focus groups. It is a waste of parliamentary time as well. Let us not forget that only last week, Sinn Féin wasted 45 minutes of parliamentary time calling the same vote twice while complaining that we did not have enough time to discuss important legislation such as that on mica.

This week, three hours will be wasted on this debate even though we know the outcome of it.

The truth is that Sinn Féin wants chaos because it benefits from chaos.