Yesterday came more bad news for those who work in the tech sector with the announcement that there will be almost 500 job losses at Meta's operation here in Ireland. Wen mortgages and rents are at an all-time high and the cost of everyday basics continues to rise, this is very difficult news for all those affected, many in my constituency of Dublin Bay South. I express my solidarity and that of my Labour Party colleagues with all of those who are once again in the dark as to whether they will continue have jobs in a few months' time.

Along with the cuts previously announced, it now seems that 20% of Meta's total workforce in Ireland is likely to be made redundant. That is a significant proportion. The Tánaiste knows that this forms a pattern in the sector. We are seeing a practice being embedded whereby big tech companies hire employees en masse and then fire them, again in large numbers, through collective redundancies in the name of so-called efficiency. It may appear to be efficient from a company’s point of view for its bottom line but it wreaks devastation on people, their families and the businesses dependent on those jobs. People are left wondering whether they will be able to put food on the table and pay their bills in the months ahead.

As with many companies in the sector, Meta does not recognise its workers' trade union, which is the Financial Services Union. This means the terms of the redundancies will be agreed by way of consultation, with little, if any, real bargaining power for the workers, as opposed to being negotiated with unions through collective bargaining processes.

Yesterday, in reply to my questions on this matter in anticipation of the job losses, the Taoiseach pointed out that 2.6 million people are at work in Ireland, which is very welcome of course, and that people are employed in increasing numbers in the tech sector, notwithstanding the spate of cuts. It is the quality and security of the jobs that is at issue and that is cause for concern for so many people and for the Labour Party. We know we are in a period of very welcome economic growth in Ireland, but that growth will not last forever. There is real concern about the sustainability of employment, not only in big tech but also in various other sectors. We see very concerning news that Germany, the EU's largest economy, is now in a technical recession. We know we cannot take for granted that uninterrupted growth will continue. We know that it will not.

What needs to happen during a period of relative stability here is to see the necessary investment in public services and infrastructure such as housing, childcare and facilities for children with special needs and autistic children, as we heard promised yesterday by the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, during the debate on the Private Members' motion tabled by the Labour Party. We also need a concerted programme of measures to improve and strengthen workers' rights and to ensure that companies have obligations and not just options. We need to see the Government put in place mechanisms to ensure rebalancing and measures to increase wages. We need to see the Government take up the call made by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, today to increase to the minimum wage. Will the Government heed the calls of ICTU to raise the minimum wage? Will it introduce a right to organise and compel employers to recognise trade unions and workers' representatives?

I thank Deputy Bacik for raising this issue. She made a very fair point in respect of the significance of Meta's announcement. It is a significant number of job losses. Our thoughts have to go to the employees who will lose their jobs as a result of this announcement and their families. Notwithstanding that the economy is strong, people are committed to the particular jobs they are in at a given time. A sudden announcement such as this can undermine the planning of individuals and families in terms of job security and their lives in general. Our first obligation is to the employees to do everything we possibly can to ensure that they can secure alternative employment and to provide alternative programmes of education and training if people want to upskill with a view to gaining further employment. This is our initial focus.

On the broader level, the ICT sector in Ireland employs approximately 170,000 people. Up to this announcement, Meta was employing approximately 2,500 people directly and in the region of 5,000 contractors. It is a significant employer. We have welcomed its investment in Ireland, which has been significant in terms of the wider economy. More broadly, the number of people employed in the ICT sector increased by approximately 40,000 over the past three years. There was that sudden exponential growth in employment over a three-year period. Perhaps there was a misreading of the situation by technology companies in terms of what would happen after Covid as a result of the use of technology during the pandemic.

In terms of Deputy Bacik's comments on where we are at present, she is correct to say we cannot expect uninterrupted economic growth forever. That is why the Minister for Finance has brought forward proposals to the Government, and there will be further consideration to make sure we provide enough resources for capital and strategic purposes when the cyclical nature of economics kicks in. There are a number of areas where we have made very good progress in the past three years. The three parties in government have committed to reducing taxation and reducing the list of public services and increasing expenditure for services. In areas such as childcare, we have made appreciable gains. We now have opportunities to do something significant in education, health and disabilities.

Deputy Bacik referred to issues relating to pay. We have worked with ICTU and we will do so again. I am conscious of people working in the disability sector. Those working for section 39 organisations have fallen somewhat behind because of national pay agreements. We have to be fair and progressive in our budgeting. There are areas where perhaps we have opportunities to do things. The Low Pay Commission will deal with the minimum wage issue. Governments do not intervene in that process.

I thank the Tánaiste for acknowledging his concern for the employees affected. We all share that concern. We are all thinking of the workers and their families who are awaiting the news as to who will be affected by the announcement from Meta. The question for the Government is what to do next in the context of a massive budget surplus. Certainly kite flying from Ministers in the Tánaiste's partner party in government has not been helpful to people now looking for certainty as to what sort of protections will be in place and what measures will be adopted by the Government in the forthcoming budget.

The reality is that workers' rights were not important enough for the Government to get a stand-alone section in the programme for Government. Now we are seeing workers being left without the right to have recognition for their trade union representatives in the context of collective redundancies. I call on the Tánaiste to commit the Government to enshrining a right to organise and to collective bargaining, along with heeding the calls from ICTU by paying apprentices and minimum wage workers a living wage. These are important calls on which we are seeking a collective response from all parties in government in light of the redundancy announcement yesterday.

It is fair to say there has been significant enhancement of workers’ rights over the last two and a half years since this Government came into office in terms of the Sick Leave Act 2022, the payment of wages and the Redundancy Payments (Amendment) Act 2022. Crucially, and I would have attended the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, programme last year, the report of the high-level review group on collective bargaining established under the auspices of the Government’s Labour Employer Economic Forum was published in October of last year and the recommendations are now being considered by the Department. That was considered a breakthrough report by all involved in those discussions.

In respect of the budget, the summer economic statement will be published as normal before the summer recess and that will give the broad envelope in terms of the taxation package. We have been reducing taxation for the last three years. I know the Opposition would like to increase taxes, not reduce them, and that is their stated position. We believe there should be a reduction in taxation but the precise manner in which you do that and who you target it at is something for the Government collectively to engage in. The Ministers, Deputy McGrath and Deputy Donohoe, will be meeting with the Government in respect of that summer economic statement and the overall envelope in terms of expenditure. Last year, it was €1 billion to €1.1 billion in tax and close to €6 billion in expenditure on new measures and existing levels of service, apart altogether from the €4 billion once-off. Once those envelopes are decided by the two Ministers, we can then get down to the real work of working out how we allocate that.