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A SHOUTING MATCH broke out in the Dáil last night as TDs debated banded hour contracts.
The motion, put forward by Sinn Féin, called for workers to have the right to request increased hours and employers to have an obligation to consider this request.
When Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly, a long-time trade union activist, took to the floor of the Dáil, she launched a scathing attack on Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
I very rarely find myself in a situation where I am speechless. I am speechless this evening listening to the nonsense coming from both sides of this house.
She described Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil as “very best friends … who are going to come together to ensure that workers cannot have a contract that simply reflects the hours that they work”.
“All I can say is I hope is either you have not read the legislation, you have not understood it or you are being quite mischievous and deliberately disingenuous,” O’Reilly said, adding that workers should be “very, very concerned over the people who are in government”.
Zero hours and low hours contracts wreck people’s lives, and good luck to you and fair play to you if nobody in your family will ever have to work under a low hours or a zero hours contract.
At this point, O’Reilly accused Fine Gael, in particular Jobs Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor, and Fianna Fáil of “doing the bidding” for unscrupulous employers and told them to “collectively hang your head in shame”.
Niall Collins, Fianna Fáil’s jobs spokesperson, took exception to this, saying of Sinn Féin:
What have they done in the north of Ireland for workers? Nothing, where they’re in government, and they come in here and they cry crocodile tears.
O’Reilly hit back, telling him: “You can of course bring your message of workers’ rights, your new found message of workers’ rights, to the north … You should be ashamed of yourself and I’m not surprised coming from the party that cut the minimum wage. I am not one bit surprised.”
As things became more heated the Ceann Comhairle, Seán Ó Fearghaíl, tried to restore order, saying: “Please deputies, restrain yourselves.”
O’Reilly then said:
Deputy Collins, I did not come in here to do what your mother should have done and put manners on you. Will you please allow me to speak?
Collins’ reply was short: “The hypocrisy.”
Ó Fearghaíl stepped in once more, saying: “Both the minister and deputy are out of order, please give way to Deputy O’Reilly, who has the floor.” He then told O’Reilly:
Maybe if you were slightly less provocative we wouldn’t get this response.
To which she said: “Ceann Comhairle, unfortunately, I am moved to be such,” stating that she has spent years helping workers who have been “at the mercy of legislation” brought in by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
During the debate, Pat Breen, Minister of State for Employment and Small Business, said the government is committed to workers’ rights and will bring forward legislation to protect people on low-hour contracts.
He said Sinn Féin’s bill would have adverse effects on businesses, and didn’t strike a balance between the rights of workers and employers.
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Let them eat cake.
@Bingobango: will the EU take pitta on the them
@Bingobango: Would that be the same cake Boris Johnson said they could have and eat?
On reading the headline I thought this must be Waterford Whispers. There really is a British Sandwich Association!
@James Darby: they seem to understand how to run a country better than May!
@Chucky Arlaw: and they know what side their bread is buttered on
@Tony Gordon: and its not mayo
Tip of the iceberg
@Dec Moran: there is other lettuce you know
@FlopFlipU: yeah called Teresa May!
@Dec Moran: overrated lettuce
@FlopFlipU: Just cos you know them, doesn’t mean he does
Recent polls from yesterday show nearly 70% of british want another referendum and would now vote to stay in the EU,what a cluster f##k
@dick dastardly: rightly so, it’s turned into a partisan calamity. 52% to 48% was too close to fully implement Brexit
@dick dastardly: Any Link to that poll ? Would be good if true but unfortunately not what I’m seeing.
@dick dastardly: According to the Sky Data poll it is 78% disapproval with the current handling of Brexit by May but it’s still 50/50 on another referendum, which poll are you referring to?
‘And there won’t be snow in Anglia this Christmastime
The greatest gift they’ll get this year is life’
Wait…they’ve a sandwich association????
@Graham: the shops on Dorset street should join the sandwich association because they haven’t a clue
Lettuce pray this doesn’t happen
British Sandwich Association… seriously? Hahaha
@David Burns: better than the Irish Onion Growers Association.
@David Burns:Yeah, but its very upper crust.
The UK are a Sandwich short of a Picnic for voting out
The scaremongers are scraping the salad bowl here….next up.
I was watching this. That MP, Fysh is some dope. Typical Tory brexiteer!
@Reg: seems fine to me, not the worst
Oh Dear ,
The Remoaners and the EU Lackey’s are really scraping the barrel with this one . Next they’ll be saying the Germans wont sell them Cars perish the thought
@John Porridge: Of course they’ll continue to sell cars in the UK. They’ll just be way more expensive in the UK, due to tariffs imposed for not being in the free market, if there’s a no deal Brexit. It’s really not that difficult to understand. Unless your a Brexiteer apparently.
@Mark Wallace: Im sure the German car manufacturers will be delighted putting tarrifs on their biggest export Market Mark duh ……..Hyundi anyone ??? Lol
@John Porridge: It won’t be the German car manufacturers imposing tariffs it will be the WTO. If the UK crash out without a deal the will fall under WTO rules.
@John Porridge: Hyundai…..which are also manufactured in the EU. That Hyundai?
@Francis Devenney: thanks for that Francis but the point im making is if tarriffs go on German Car sales into the UK which is their biggest export market then that means job losses in mighty Deutchsland , hence the Germans wont allow that. The Brits just need to use the strong hand they have which is the trade deficit over the EU.
@Reg: thanks Reg , the point is with tarriffs on car exports to the UK it means job losses for the Germans . Hence thats not going to happen so there will be a deal , the brits just need to hold their nerve
@John Porridge: No the Brits will still buy cars they will just pay more for them. Where else are they going to get them tariff free?
@John Porridge: you’re making a lot of assumptions there John, how do you know the EU will just give the UK a deal when the UK can’t work out what they actually want? Just assuming the EU will cave because of German cars is taking a big leap. The EU cannot afford to allow the UK with participation in the single market without following the rules.
@John Porridge: 1 in 7 German cars produced in Germany are sold in the UK. They’ll be grand.
@Francis Devenney: in this day and age possibly 10-12 % extra on a BMW . I doubt it Francis , well i drive a 5 Series and i wouldnt pay the extra 4-5k if it was to go up here as there expensive enough even though they are the best cars
@Dave Harris: hi Dave , my assumption is common sense will prevail and the germans are quite logical so there should be a deal . The UK voted to leave Dave , that means no single market or customs union , if they stay in either of those then their not leaving . Also the EU is controlled by Germany , they dictate the terms hence my point about the cars . Also , if the Brits do leave without a deal its ourselves who will suffer the most so i think the Brit bashing should be put away for a while dont ya think
@Mark Wallace: its actually 20% Reg of all German car exports , thats 1 in 5 so as i said before it would be within the germans interest and ours that a deal is done with the Brits .
Are they based in Sandwich?
@Michael Kavanagh: I doubt it. The term Sandwich comes from when the Earl of Sandwich used to order his meat between two slices of bread in his favourite club, of which I cant remember the name. Its a very English thing. Anyway the UK grows plenty of things to put between slices as they have a more diverse agricultural industry than ours. They have bumper crops of salad produce this year, as well as the grapes and apricots looking good. The wine industry is booming due to the amount of vineyards expanding at a massive rate and they are producing bubbly that knocks spots off champagne. If they get a tough Brexit they will be fine for sandwiches and bubbly.
lettuce brack in!
What a pickle
Fysh sounded like some brainwashed clown
@Seamus G: He seemed to equate import difficulties with a blockade, fysh is the one trying to create project fear.
T
No meal brexit?
Greencore us the worlds (and the UK’s) biggest sandwich maker. They’ll just grow these ingredients in NI or mainland UK. Either way cant see trucks to the UK from Ireland being that distrupted.
wow the scaremongers are everywhere…they really scraping the bottom of the pit with this new tactic.can the eu not just let democracy run and let the uk leave for the love of everything that is holy….
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