I want to give the Taoiseach an insight into the vicious assault on workers' wages and conditions which is under way in this country under his stewardship. I want to draw his attention to a delegation present in the Visitors' Gallery which has a keen and personal interest in this situation - a group of workers who did not know last Tuesday morning when they tried to go to work before 7 a.m. that they would be sitting here today. They thought they would be doing what many of them have been doing for years or decades - that they would be out collecting this city's bins. Instead, when they arrived for their ten-hour shift, they were met at the door with a new clock card system. This was a bit of sideshow. They had not heard of this system, but that was not the main issue. The real agenda came after that. They were expected to sign a new contract, with a cut of over 24% in basic wages, not to mention cuts in other allowances, with immediate effect.

Let us be clear on this. These workers were not living the high life anyway. They have a modest wage as drivers and an even more modest wage as operatives. They were being asked to take a cut of between €250 and €270 per week for drivers and between €120 and €140 for operatives. How any of these workers could be expected to take a hit is beyond me. This was an orchestrated manoeuvre to undermine the unionised workers, because the employer immediately marched down to the High Court and got an injunction against them and, with the assistance of the local Intreo office, recruited people to take their jobs. The consequence of bringing people in with no training or experience was that the first truck that drove out knocked down and hospitalised Ray O'Reilly, who is in the Visitors' Gallery. The next night, another truck rammed three cars on James's Street and an ambulance and gardaí had to be called. I wonder whether there will be a fatality as a result of these antics. These unsafe practices will have far-reaching consequences.

The only way the Greyhound company can do what it is doing is by exploiting others to do the work in an illegal manner. What it is doing is making the routes longer and impossible to complete. What happens is that at 5 p.m., when the workers go home, a procurer of casual labour arrives at the car park in Woodies and, like a scene out of "On the Waterfront" selects people to work through the night to clear the bins that have not been emptied.

The Deputy is over time.

Is the Taoiseach going to stand by and allow practices that would be more suited to an episode of "The Sopranos" to be undertaken in this State, or will he instead immediately instruct NERA to launch an investigation into Greyhound, into the Buckley Brothers and into Gary Bogdon, the procurer of casual labour, to verify compliance with all of the State's legal, taxation and health and safety requirements?

The Deputy cannot name people in the Chamber. She is over her time.

Finally, will the Taoiseach instruct Dublin City Council to ensure compliance with the city's by-laws regarding the presentation of waste so that this company cannot go out in the midnight hours to use super-exploited workers to undermine decent wages?

Before the Taoiseach replies, the Deputy knows there is a time limit on Leaders' Questions. I ask her to adhere to it, please. I do not want to be interrupting the Deputy, but if she goes way over her time, I am obliged to do so. Please adhere to the time limits.

It seems extraordinary that workers should be asked to take a cut of between €250 and €270 per week without any discussion or without any notice being given to them. I find it equally extraordinary that what appear to be untrained workers driving substantial trucks have been involved in the kind of incidents the Deputy has described. Clearly, the Labour Relations Commission has an opportunity to get involved here. The machinery of the State has worked exceptionally well in many difficult and sensitive circumstances over the years. I see the workers the Deputy mentioned in the Visitors' Gallery. I would expect that any company, private or public, would be amenable to the machinery of the State becoming involved in a dispute such as this. The danger arising from the incidents the Deputy has recounted is palpable. From the perspective of the Government, the capacity of the State to intervene is through the LRC and other mechanisms. I would be happy to see those mechanisms made available for these workers in respect of the company they are dealing with.

I am glad to hear the Taoiseach say the circumstances are extraordinary, but what I have said is true. If the Taoiseach really means what he says, I believe there will be a follow-on from this discussion. There were discussions under way in the company and there have been three Labour Court attendances over the past 18 months, but sadly the employer has either broken or not recognised any of those decisions. Instead, it has resorted to the costly mechanism of the High Court. A case for this morning was adjourned until next Tuesday.

It is true that untrained workers are out on the streets. It is true that people nobody knows are being picked up in car parks and brought in to do the work of these unionised workers who pay tax on revenue.

Will the Deputy please put her supplementary question?

I want to put my question again. If the Taoiseach and all of us are appalled by what is being done, we must do something. Will the Taoiseach instruct the Minister with responsibility for jobs to get the NERA inspectors to investigate this company to see who these casual workers are, whether they are paying tax and PRSI and whether they have been trained? They are being super-exploited to undermine the work of the men who are here today.

From what the Deputy says, the situation is even more serious than that. She has recounted that one truck smashed into three cars and another truck got involved in some other kind of incident. If that is the case, are these drivers properly licensed to drive trucks of this size, or should I understand that these are people who are incompetent and unqualified to drive trucks of this scale?

The Deputy raised a fundamental point. If workers in a unionised position working for a company were not even informed of the requirement to take a drop of between €250 and €270 per week, it seems extraordinary that this was done without any consultation. The Deputy also mentioned NERA. I will see it is contacted and will also ensure that the LRC is informed of the situation. It has a tried and proven record in many sensitive cases over the years.