On Committee Stage I gave an undertaking that I would put down an amendment on Report Stage to deal with a matter raised in one of Senator O'Toole's amendments. That amendment provided for the provision of information to young people about the content of the Bill. I took legal advice and was informed that under section 6 (a) of the Terms of Employment Information Act, 1994, I can ask employers to add to the statement given to employees under that Act any such matter as I prescribe. It is my intention to provide information in simple, user friendly language, about the rights, entitlements and duties of young people and their employers under this legislation. They will be given that information on the same sheet of paper that contains details about their employment, wages, hours of work and so forth. That is how the information would be best received by the young people concerned and it meets the valid and important point made by Senator O'Toole on Committee Stage.
This week my Department launched an information campaign about the minimum rates of pay under joint labour committees. The Congress of Trade Unions and IBEC are involved in that launch and the telephones have been hopping since it commenced. That is just the start of the information campaign on employment rights which I promised in this House. The next stage will relate to this Bill and young people and it is hoped to involve the schools in the campaign. I thank Senators for their acceptance of this way of dealing with the matter raised in Senator O'Toole's amendment.
I thank the House for its consideration of the Bill. The debates on Second and Committee Stages were excellent. Senator Ormonde, being a career guidance teacher, brought her professional expertise to bear in discussing the appropriate balance between school and work for young people. Senator Lanigan brought his business expertise to bear in discussing practical ways to ensure that the protections we seek to provide will work in a business context. Senator O'Toole, in his usual colourful way, put down a number of amendments in his anxiety to ensure that the protections in the Bill would work well for young people. He always brings to the business of the House his concerns not only as an educator but as a member of the executive council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. I had detailed discussions with the council, its youth committee, the National Youth Council and IBEC before finalising the Bill's provisions. There was also a good debate in the Dáil and I amended certain provisions of the Bill as a consequence.
This is not party political legislation; we have used the wisdom of parties in both Houses to improve its provisions. I thank Senators for their courtesy, consideration and solid input. I am delighted that we will meet next Saturday's deadline for transposing the directive into legislation. Sometimes items go to the Office of the Attorney General or to the parliamentary draftsman and there follows a lengthy and tortuous wait while the legal aspects are considered. Brussels gives us two years to implement directives and we often need all that time to do so. The staff in my office have devoted a great deal of time to working on this legislation and there has been no delay on their part. However, we were anxious to engage in a process of consultation before we finalised the Bill and that took time, in addition to having the legal eagles turn our English into simple legal provisions.
