It is okay. I knew I was on the list for this item. I thank the Tánaiste and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to introduce this Bill. I thank also the staff of the Office of the Ceann Comhairle and the Bills Office who worked very hard to help me with this. I am delighted to discuss my Bill in the House. Covid-19 has ripped through our society and economy and has wreaked havoc on workers and their families. Many workers, especially front-line and essential service workers such as suppliers, shop and su…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

There has been a very clear failure of communication between business and the Government regarding what should come after level 5. I do not believe anyone would dispute that. For weeks, businesses have been calling for clarity regarding Christmas trading. The public were looking for information on the public health measures that would be in place for Christmas and how things will look after 1 December. Today, the Tánaiste tweeted that we are on our way out of level 5 but he did not tweet about what is coming after …

I thank the Acting Chairman for the opportunity to speak on this important Bill. I also want to thank my colleagues, Deputies Doherty and Mairéad Farrell, for bringing forward the Bill and their offices for all of the hard work they have done to try to regulate the area of lobbying. Given all that has happened this year, this is a very timely Bill. The Minister probably knows and should acknowledge that. Everyone in the State, with the possible exception of those who have sat on successive Government benches, knows…

I wish to raise the case of workers employed by Rehab Enterprises in SMILES Newsagents. There are approximately 21 such workers, many of whom have disabilities. They have been put on notice that they will be made redundant. The company is refusing to share financial information, which is essential in this case. It is also refusing to engage meaningfully with the trade union. An established and agreed redundancy package of two weeks' statutory pay plus an ex gratia payment of four weeks is in place, but the company …

-----and honour the collective agreement? I remind the Tánaiste that we often discuss the Debenhams workers-----

-----and the opportunity that was missed to honour the collective agreement in their case. Will the Tánaiste call on Rehab Enterprises to honour its agreement and engage meaningfully? I remind him that many of these workers have disabilities.

I will refer briefly to a number of issues but I will start by thanking the Chairman, the secretariat and all of the staff who oversaw the implementation of the special committee and brought us together in a very challenging time. In the early days, it must have been very tough for them to figure out the logistics of how we would meet but they did it and facilitated what I believe to be a very important committee. I will highlight a number of issues and focus on areas of particular difficulty as we move into the ne…

I am sharing time. I thank the Deputies for introducing this legislation and providing the opportunity to have the discussion. Before I get into the substantive issue of the right to disconnect and the need to protect home workers, I must point out that for workers, the best defence against exploitation is to join a union and vote left. That was true in the 1940s, when my grandmother was a shop steward with the Irish Women Workers Union; in the 1950s, when my grandad was a shop steward with the Irish Transport and …

Do not be afraid to say it.

Sometimes people forget just how diverse Dublin is. It is not all city, although that is a significant part of the county. North County Dublin covers a huge area and it has some significant towns in Swords, Balbriggan, Skerries, where I live, Rush and Lusk to name a few. These towns are different. They have their own characteristics and charms and they are all unique in their differences and needs. Around many of these towns are the coast and farming lands. In many ways, north County Dublin is the same as most of t…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for a period of paid leave as a consequence of domestic violence and for that purpose to amend the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, to extend as a consequence the protection against unfair dismissals conferred by the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2015 and to provide for the consequential amendment of certain other enactments, and to provide for related matters. I wish to share my time with Deputy McDonald.

I thank you for the opportunity to speak on the Bill this afternoon, a Cheann Comhairle. I know that behind almost everything that we do here, there are very good intentions. However, I feel that this Bill, which we in Sinn Féin have brought forward here today, is incredibly important legislation. Quite simply, the Bill seeks to provide for a period of paid leave for people who are the victims of domestic violence. This legislation is an important addition to existing workplace rights. The provision of a statutory …

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 to establish procedures for an employee’s right to disconnect from work-related emails, texts, and calls outside of working hours, and to provide for related matters. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to introduce this Bill, which seeks to guarantee workers a legal right to disconnect and a right to switch off from work. With social, economic and technological development, work practice…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

The Minister spoke about the need to think long term. If we are to think long term about this we, and he as the relevant Minister, should reflect on the fact that none of our regional airports, or indeed the airport in our capital city, has a railway station, a light rail link or any other form of rail link. That is something we need to address because while connectivity is important, so is connectivity from the airports into other areas essential for tourism and so on. The Minister knows this but if we are going t…

I want to raise the issue of the Debenhams workers and I know this has been raised with the Taoiseach several times. I put him on notice that we are going to keep raising it with him because the resolution of this dispute is extremely important. My understanding is the Taoiseach is in receipt of two letters from the Mandate trade union, a registered, recognised trade union, not a breakaway, as we have been discussing recently. Mandate is looking for a meeting with the Taoiseach. Will he accede to that request for a…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important and broad legislation. Most of my points about the Bill will be technical in nature and I will have some additional commentary about the state of Brexit negotiations. With regard to the sections of the Bill that pertain to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the issue of workers' rights, I will focus on the changes to securities trading. I want to ask about the amendments concerning the issuance of certificates and the sections allowing for the…

My question is a straightforward one. It relates to people working as content moderators for social media platforms. I want to ask if the Ministers are aware of this new form of work and the fact that the people engaged in it are subject to serious psychological damage and injury due to being exposed to explicit content during the course of their everyday work, and if the Tánaiste will engage with those workers, and, indeed, with their employers, to address this situation because in some instances, as we now know, …