I wish to raise some important questions on the issues of workers' rights.

I want to begin on a positive note with the coming into effect of the banded hours legislation this week. I have been informed by the Mandate union, which represents workers in the retail sector, that there has been a significant uptake in union membership on the basis of this legislation and a huge interest in applying for the extra hours.

However, the situation is complicated by what appears to be a joint approach by some of the major employers, such as Dunnes Stores, Lloyds and SuperValu, which have banded together to come to an arrangement where they insist that workers sign what they call a new banded hours contract. I understand this contains a threat of disciplinary action and even dismissal if workers fail to work the hours outlined in these new contracts.

I put it to the Tánaiste - I am glad the relevant Minister is present - that there should be a close monitoring of this legislation and its implementation over the next period because I believe there will be skulduggery in trying to scare workers again to not take up these banded hours.

I have also been approached recently by workers in the new, swanky and expensive restaurant, The Ivy, where the company is taking the major proportion of tips paid to staff to make up the difference in their wages. As an example, one worker signed a contract last October for €14.90 an hour. This person is now being paid €9.80 an hour, and the difference is being made up from the tips. This company is robbing the workers of their money and we do not know where the rest of the money is going. It seems it is being pocketed by the company. The staff working in the sector are reliant on tips to make up a reasonable wage to enable them to get by and to afford the outrageous rents being charged in this city for accommodation. This wage theft is an increasing practice in the sector. There also have been reports from the restaurant industry in Galway. A Bill has come through the Seanad on this issue, and I would expect widespread cross-party and indeed Government support for that legislation.

Finally, I want to raise the issue of the ongoing dispute for union recognition by ambulance paramedics who are members of the Psychiatric Nurses Association, PNA, in the health service. Is it not an incredibly bad signal for a major State employer such as the HSE to refuse to recognise the rights of ambulance paramedics to be represented by a union of their choice? The PNA is an officially registered trade union that already represents staff in the health service. It is even worse for the HSE to refuse an invitation to attend the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. The Government and the Minister should instruct the HSE to go to the WRC, which the PNA already has stated it is prepared to do.

I thank the Deputy. There are a lot of questions there.

They are all related.

I will try to answer some of them.

This Government's record in trying to protect workers, particularly around minimum wage increases, is very strong and it will continue to be, by taking independent advice on an annual basis.

On the tips issue, to be clear, any employer that calculates salary and includes tips in that figure is acting illegally. This cannot be done.

I have just said that.

Tips are separate to salary and if there are issues that the Government needs to act on there, then we will look at that closely. If there are loopholes in respect of the new legislation that are being abused, we will close them.

On the new legislation, which has been welcomed across the trade union movement generally and certainly by ICTU - I listened to Patricia King doing so during the week - this is a sensible and pragmatic way forward that involved some compromise but does provide significant increased protection for workers. That is what we are trying to do here in a way that is fair, and that has listened to the concerns of employers but has struck what we regard as a fair balance. This is a view that would be also be reflected across the trade union membership.

On trade union recognition by the HSE and the ambulance workers who want to be represented by the PNA rather than SIPTU, that is an industrial relations issue where the HSE must make a judgment call as to how to maintain a proper industrial relations infrastructure and relationship between unions and employers. The position of the HSE and the Government is fairly clear on this issue. There are different views and perspectives across trade unions on the approach here. Anyone has, of course, a right to join a trade union but that does not mean that the trade union necessarily has the right to be recognised, per se, by an individual employer, if another trade union is representing the concerns and rights of those workers. That is an ongoing dispute but I think that the Government's position has been made quite clear.

The former Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, boasted that this was the best country to do business in. It is not the best country for a lot of workers facing exploitation by employers. It is extraordinary that the Government is saying that an employer decides who represents a worker in a workplace, and not the worker. It is a basic human right to be represented by a trade union of one's choice. It is not up to the HSE or SIPTU to make that decision. It should go to the WRC, where all issues will be discussed and decided upon and recommendations will be made. If the WRC says that those workers are entitled to be in a union of their choice, well then c'est la vie, that is the decision that is made. If not they can go to the European courts to challenge that decision. The Government is denying those workers that right by not instructing the HSE to go to the WRC. That is the issue here. It is not up to the HSE to decide what union should represent those workers. It is a basic human right that is being denied them by the Government and I urge it to reconsider its position in this regard.

First, on the comments by the previous Taoiseach on trying to make Ireland the best small country in which to build a business and to work, I stand corrected if I am wrong, but my understanding is we have the second highest minimum wage in Europe now, and we are very proud to have that. At the same time, we are maintaining a competitive economy that is creating jobs every single day.

That is not an easy thing to do and we will continue to try to manage an economy that protects workers' rights and pays them a decent wage for a week's work. We will continue to take independent advice on where the minimum wage should be and act on that as a Government. At the same time, we will continue to talk to employers about the supports they need to be able to build and grow competitive businesses out of Ireland. That approach has worked very well in the last seven years. We have seen unemployment fall from over 15% to just over 5%, and it is continuing to fall month on month. That is the approach we will continue to take.

In respect of the approach of the HSE in the other issue the Deputy mentioned, those matters are well understood and debated at this stage.