To expand a little on the kind of work that these people are engaged in, they are responsible for assessing user-generated content submitted to these online platforms. They have to look at videos and other content that users of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms upload to see if it complies with the standards. I am not talking about the funny videos with headings such as, "I did not go to work because a cat fell on my head and then a dog with shoes tried to do me justice." I am talking about videos of…

Facebook is the largest of these platforms, and the one where most of the violence, and, indeed, disturbing content, is shared. The content moderators in Dublin have been outsourced. This is despite the fact that their work is essential. It is deemed essential by Facebook. It has to carry on and as the Tánaiste stated, artificial intelligence will only do so much. It will not do the job of these people. Facebook has outsourced its responsibility in some respects. According to an article in The Sunday Business Post …

This is another fairly straightforward question. It follows on from the publication of the guidance for working remotely. Will the Tánaiste consider bringing forward legislation to ensure workers have a legal right to remote working? At the very start of the pandemic, I got a phone call from a constituent who told me that on the day the restrictions were announced, five laptops were brought into her workplace for the senior managers. The managers went home and the workers were left in the workplace. That case was r…

Maybe I misunderstood the Tánaiste. He said he wanted to initiate a conversation on the right to request remote working but we all have that right at the moment, although probably not in this job, admittedly. However, in most other jobs, bar those where the employee's physical presence is required, people can request it. The boss can just say "No", however. Studies show that productivity has gone up but we also know that some employers are either nervous or unwilling to progress remote working. I have previously sa…

I ask the Tánaiste to start by doing a very simple thing. We very rarely hear senior politicians or NPHET requesting employers to allow their employees to work from home. We hear a lot that employees should all work from home where possible but there should also be an onus on employers to provide this facility. We could spend all evening getting into why people's homes or apartments are overcrowded but the Tánaiste is correct that plenty of people cannot work from home. This is where some good work could be done wi…

I thank the Deputies for introducing this timely and important Bill. With respect, it is difficult to believe that the Minister does not support it. It has a basis in equality and I do not know what possible reason she has to object to that. She did not outline any when she spoke. Perhaps she might enlighten the House at some stage. School places are at a premium in my constituency. In population terms, my constituency is the youngest in the State and one of the fastest growing. Building has not kept pace with dema…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Finance Bill. It is an important Bill, a version of which we see every year giving effect to the financial and tax measures in the budget. With that in mind, I want to speak to some of those tax changes, specifically in respect of the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS, and on some matters related to business and workers' rights. One key measure announced on budget day was the CRSS. In his budget speech, as well as over the following days, the Minister and his Governme…

I thank my colleagues, Deputies Clarke, Martin Kenny, Kerrane and Wynne for tabling this important legislation. Nearly every year, we see images of flooding and we look on with shock and horror at the damage it has caused to homes, businesses, land and livestock. It is especially acute along the Shannon, as well as in Cork, Galway and along the River Barrow. If one speaks to the victims of flooding, they will speak of their initial shock but following from that are long-lasting and lingering impacts to one's home a…

We are considering legislation to enforce, essentially what is a level 5 lockdown, as some are calling it. We know that we have to do this, in part because of the lack of capacity within the health service. We have to protect the health service from becoming overwhelmed. We have been told repeatedly by the Minister and her predecessor that testing is essential and that it is a vital tool in our battle with this virus. I was very disturbed yesterday to receive a notification that was circulated in the National Virus…

The Minister for Health earlier, when he was here, referred to other jurisdictions cancelling elective surgeries and other health services. That is new for them and something to which they are not used. It is not new in this jurisdiction, however, because elective surgery is cancelled all the time. Last year, University Hospital Limerick was in full capacity protocol for over 90% of the year. When full capacity protocol is brought in, it means that elective surgeries are cancelled, people are placed on trolleys in …

This has been a tough week for the women of Ireland. Last night, we had a heartwrenching and emotional debate on the Government's proposals to seal the records of survivors of mother and baby homes, women who were vilified, abused and treated as outcasts by this State. In the same week, issues surrounding CervicalCheck have unfortunately arisen again. Some 12 months ago, the Tánaiste delivered a formal State apology for the litany of failures in respect of CervicalCheck and he said sorry for the humiliation, disres…

The Tánaiste has just read out a description of the process that has been rejected by the women and their families. I genuinely do not believe that the Tánaiste is doing them any service by seeking either to defend that or indeed to dismiss their concerns in this way. I do not think the Tánaiste is being fair. He says there is no perfect solution and no solution has been offered. Would the Tánaiste not intervene and request that the Tuesday deadline be lifted to give time for proper, meaningful engagement with thes…

I thank my colleague, an Teachta Ó Broin, for bringing forward this Bill to ban co-living developments. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is from my constituency and while we have no such developments in progress that does not mean they will not be here in the future. I am already dealing with them on a small scale and there is no disputing the fact that unless the Minister is stopped, we will have large scale co-living developments in places such as Balbriggan and Swords and right across north County Dublin. It is rid…

I apologise for being late this morning. One of the delights of living in Dublin and in the country is occasionally getting stuck behind a tractor. My question is fairly straightforward. It relates to the explosion in the number of people working from home. Will the Minister consider putting in place recognition for remote working as a protected form of work, with particular safeguards, protections and allowances for these workers?

I thank the Minister. Technology now allows people to work from home and remotely work in a way that has never been possible before but there are a number of issues, chief among which is one to which the Minister referred. If people are working at home they are always at work and always at home. There needs to be a clear definition of remote work as a protected form of work. We have seen, and it should be encouraged, that people have the right to work from home. I worked for a union and we often fought for the righ…

That is grand if there is a remote hub near where the person lives or if he or she has access to broadband, which many people do not. There needs to be a focus on establishing hubs. I would like to see some in my area, Balbriggan. There is a small, privately run one in Skerries but there is definitely scope for more in Balbriggan and other areas of north County Dublin, as well as across the board, to ensure that people can have the option. It needs to be a realistic option. The response from the Government has to f…

I wish to take this opportunity to wish John a very long, happy and healthy retirement. I wish to raise with the Tánaiste the issue of the Debenhams workers, now out for six months. Yesterday KPMG wrote to Mandate. It said it was willing to offer a commitment to notify Mandate at least two hours in advance of the times when and the stores which the liquidators intend to enter for delivery of packing materials or removal of stock. KPMG broke that undertaking in the middle of the night in the Henry Street store. Mand…

Before I begin, I note the Minister of State's concern that the DART should be extended to the counties around Dublin. It is important to point out that the DART does not even go the edge of County Dublin. It stops at Malahide, although the bridges were lifted to facilitate its extension to Balbriggan a long time ago. I hope that particular extension will also form part of the Government's plans for the service. I welcome the opportunity to speak on budget 2021. Many workers and businesses eagerly awaited yesterday…

I thank Teachta Munster for bringing the Bill before the House and facilitating this important discussion. It is timely that we are discussing organising, trade union membership and workers' rights because it is obvious to anyone who cares to look that this pandemic has shown up the way in which successive Governments have failed to safeguard workers' rights or ensure that workers' terms and conditions are protected. Indeed, the terms and conditions of workers have been diluted over time. I refer to precarious work…

I am going just to nail this; there is nobody on the Sinn Féin benches that is anti-trade union.