Zero-hour contract advocate's bruising encounter with Mary Lou McDonald

A PRIVATE HEALTHCARE spokesperson has been told in a pre-Budget parliamentary committee by Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald TD that he has “zero-credibility” to argue for social inclusion if he is in favour of zero-hour contracts for staff.

The Dublin Central TD told the Chair of Home and Community Care Ireland, Michael Harty, we need to stop regarding care work as some form of second-rate work when it should be valued and care workers should be paid properly and employed on decent contracts.

She was speaking at an overview of pre-Budget submissions at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform.