53. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether his Department will consider the creation of a dedicated unit aimed at promoting workers rights, providing workers with the information and support to exercise their rights, and supporting workers and businesses wishing to enter into collective bargaining agreements, in order to ensure high-quality, stable employment, particularly in sectors with low collective bargaining coverage. [66951/26]

The promotion and protection of workers’ rights is a key priority for my Department and, in this regard, a comprehensive framework is already in place to provide workers and employers with information on employment rights, support compliance with employment legislation, and facilitate the resolution of workplace disputes.

Firstly, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is an independent statutory body under the aegis of my Department and the WRC promotes good workplace relations and protects employment rights and helps employers and employees prevent or resolve disputes through information, mediation, conciliation, adjudication, inspection and enforcement services.

On a broader scale, the Government is committed to a safe working environment, fair treatment and fair wages for workers. Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights legislation in place to protect and support workers. Our laws in this area are kept under review to reflect both national and international developments, including at European Union, Court of Justice, and International Labour Organisation level.

Moreover, for workers and businesses wishing to enter into collective bargaining agreements, there is an extensive range of supports and statutory provisions designed to back up the voluntarist system of collective bargaining in Ireland. The current system is based on respecting the autonomy of parties to negotiate and agree terms that enhance existing statutory protections. In addition, the measures contained in Ireland’s Action Plan to Promote Collective Bargaining aim to promote constructive relations and collective bargaining across the State.

At sectoral level, Joint Labour Committees play a vital role in supporting stronger sectoral employment conditions, particularly in sectors where collective bargaining is not well established and pay levels tend to be low. By bringing together employer and worker representatives, JLCs facilitate agreement on minimum rates of pay and conditions of employment, which may be given statutory effect through Employment Regulation Orders. These bodies play an important role in enhancing employment standards in relevant sectors.

Against this background, my Department’s current focus is on maintaining a robust employment legislation framework, delivering the actions contained in Ireland’s Action Plan to Promote Collective Bargaining and continuing to support the work of the Workplace Relations Commission, the Labour Court and the established sectoral wage-setting mechanisms.

My Department will continue to support the WRC and Labour Court through the annual budgetary process in terms of staffing, financial and ICT resources, and we will keep under review the effectiveness of the existing arrangements for promoting awareness of employment rights, supporting compliance and facilitating constructive collective bargaining.