We welcome the opportunity to speak on this legislation. Sinn Féin will support this legislation and we will await the publication of the wording of the referendum to make a further decision, which is entirely reasonable. I apologise in advance for my alternating and interchangeable pronunciations of the word "patent". We might tack something onto the referendum, so we can make a definitive statement on it, because I find myself drifting between the two. In 1973 the European Patent Convention was signed, resulting …

It is completely interchangeable.

I sincerely thank Deputy Collins not just for this legislation, but for the work she does in general on workers' rights, her group and her staff because it is obvious from reading the legislation that not just a lot of work went into writing it but a lot of consultation went into formulating it. This is practical legislation that is intended to make a real and meaningful difference to the lives of working people, which is incredibly important. It also fits neatly with the EU directive and I am genuinely mystified a…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 6, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1): “(1A) Where a European Works Council stands established pursuant to the Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Act 1996 in relation to the employment in which it is proposed to create collective redundancies, the employer or responsible person shall, in addition to the requirements of subsection (1), with a view to reaching agreement, initiate …

I wish to press the Minister of State on the timetable for that. I acknowledge reference to the very best efforts and all that, but I have a genuine concern that we will be back here in four or five years with this issue still not resolved. I would like more information on the timeline. I appreciate the Minister of State has sought a bilateral meeting in two and a half weeks. What is the likely outcome? Does he expect this matter to be substantially resolved by the end of the Belgian Presidency or to continue past …

I move amendment No. 2: In page 11, to delete line 4 and substitute the following: “(b) an employees’ recognised trade union and/or an employees’ representative.”.”. This amendment seeks to insert that when a petition for the winding-up of a company is being made to the High Court, employees and their recognised trade unions are notified. The ICTU recommended to the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment that this should be extended, for the avoidance of doubt, to include a trade union of which the emp…

That underlines the need for us to get the minimum wage directive adopted as soon as possible to clear up issues around a multi-union environment. The Minister of State accepted my bona fides on this. The intention is not to do anything other than be helpful. The concern is not addressed in the legislation. I understand the point the Minister of State makes that if there are ten workers and nine of them are in nine separate unions, it could get messy. In truth, that does not happen. People are not stupid. They join…

I move amendment No. 3: In page 13, after line 32, to insert the following: “Amendment of Act of 2014 28. The Act of 2014 is amended by the insertion of the following sections after section 621: “Power of the Court to return assets which have been improperly transferred 621A. (1) The court has the following power where, on the application of the Minister or the liquidator and/or employee representative and employees’ recognised trade union in respect of a situation in which collective redundancies have arisen in ci…

Tactical insolvencies happen. We can put any name we like on them. They should not be allowed, and we all know that. If sufficient laws had been in place to protect workers like those in Debenhams, TalkTalk and Clerys, workers would not have had to protest and engage in the action they were forced into. They did not do that as a first choice. I know this because I spoke to workers in all of these companies. They were terrified and felt they were at the back of the queue. They felt that things were happening all aro…

I thank the Deputies for bringing forward this motion and for giving us an opportunity to discuss the dire state of access to GP care across the State. I represent north County Dublin. My constituents are no different from the people we have heard described here. They wait for GP services and appointments, and they cannot get on lists. Only last week, I spoke to a woman who has three children. Two of her kids are registered in Balbriggan but her third child cannot get to see a GP in the town. She now has to go to M…

On page 55 of the programme for Government, there is a commitment to introduce a social housing passport to allow households to move from one local authority housing list to another. This provision has been in every single programme for Government for the past 15 years, but there does not seem to be any movement on it. Bizarrely, there does not seem to be any objection to it on the Government's side. Maybe the reason it is not happening is inertia or a complete lack of interest. I will explain the impact this has b…

They cannot transfer their time.

You could just build houses, I suppose.

I will caveat this by saying there is absolutely no disrespect meant to the Minister of State. I thank her for being here. There are two Ministers of State and one Minister in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I find it a little bit of a stretch that not one of them could find some time to be here. Notwithstanding that, I am very grateful that the Minister of State is here to hear it. I am sure she will bring back what she hears to her colleagues in government. Given the issue under discussion, it…

I ask the Minister for an update on the action plan on collective bargaining that will be presented to the European Commission as part of the transposition of the directive on adequate minimum wages. As I am sure the Minister is aware, this is something eagerly awaited by workers and employers alike.

The Minister said one thing that was a little concerning. He stated it was not a mandatory target, which is fine, as I know it is not. However, he might indicate in his response if the 80% target, mandatory or not, will be the one the Government aims for. Does he believe the 80% coverage is desirable and should be the end goal for the transposition of this directive? At the enterprise, trade and employment committee recently, the ICTU and IBEC gave a presentation on their own interpretations of the directive. There…

I am sure the people due in would appreciate if-----

That sounds more like a threat than a promise, Minister. In response to what the Minister has said, I agree that we are way short of 80%. We are miles away from it. Notwithstanding that, in my opinion, which may not be shared other people in this House, the best defence a worker can have at work us to join their union and be active in it. It is also presented as evidence that most workers, given the opportunity, will want to join, be part of and be active in their trade union. The view from IBEC was very different,…

It was reported that the WRC intended to finalise the code of practice on remote working by 31 January. Clearly, that date has come and gone. We have not seen it as yet and it has not been published. I am looking for an update as to the status of the code and a date for publication. The Minister will be as aware, as I am, that both workers and employers are left in something of a limbo. On the one hand, we have employers demanding that workers come straight back into the office and, on the other hand, we have emplo…

I thank the Minister for his reply. The current Taoiseach promised that the legal right would be delivered before he left his role as Minister for enterprise, so the Minister present might forgive me if I am a little bit sceptical about the Government's intention in this regard. The Minister says he wants to make remote working a feature. Remote working is a feature of work at the moment. In fact, I have long argued that it should be recognised as a specific form of work, like shift work is, because it is a very sp…