Michael Collins
Cork South-West · Independent Ireland · Ireland
“This matter has been raised twice already this morning, but it is hugely important. I will make a personal appeal to the Taoiseach regarding Skyclarys and the further delay that has now arisen. Yesterday, Emma O'Shea came to Leinster House from west Cork with her mother, father and brother.”
“Another huge problem which normally arises in August is that relating to school buses. Parents have no way to get their children to school because of the nearest school rule. The current and previous programmes for Government contain promises that this will be done away with, but nothing has happened. The rule needs to be abolished.”
“Every parent knows that September has become one of the most expensive months of the year. While free schoolbooks are welcome, many families now face growing costs for other items. Parents are being asked to purchase laptops that cost €400 or more, make increased payments for school transport and pay charges to cover examination fees.”
“Either 25 children are left without a school place this September, or two senior infants classes are merged into one class of 34 children. Does the Minister of State agree that schools should not be punished for helping to solve an enrolment crisis? Will he immediately sanction the additional teaching posts required for St.”
“Education should not be measured by means of the distance someone lives from school, and school transport should not be measured on that basis either. I want to raise a matter that Councillor Bill Clear brought to my attention. It is a very serious issue regarding St. Corban’s National School in Naas in County Kildare.”
“I was chairperson of a board of management and know the difficulties that schools face just because they are one or two children short. That can be made up as the year goes on but it is a crisis that Councillor Clear finds unacceptable.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,574 lines we hold for Michael Collins, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 12 of 32.
“What economic and employment impact assessments have been carried out at local and regional level? What engagement took place with stakeholders in the short-term letting sector during the drafting of these guidelines? How does the Government justify these measures on housing grounds, given the risk they may remove essential visitors' accommodation, damage regional development and deliver little or no additional long-term housing supply?”
“Will the Tánaiste outline how proposed planning guidelines will take full account of the vital role short-term lets play in the Irish economy, supporting tourism, regional employment and supplementary housing needs? In many parts of the country, especially rural and seasonal areas, short-term letting provides essential accommodation for tourists, contract workers, students and families. These lets sustain local pubs, restaurants, shops, transport providers and visitor attractions and often form a crucial income stream for small family-run business. Given that tourism is a cornerstone of our economy and a key employer, how will the Government ensure these guidelines do not unintentionally undermine local communities or force viable microbusinesses to close?”
“It is similar to what happened with Brexit, decommissioning and all of that. I hope to God that the task force is not being set up to talk about further decommissioning, because if it is, the Irish fleet will be wiped out completely. When is the task force going to be set up? What bodies will be represented on it? When will its first meeting be held? What will its role be in the context of bringing fishing back to the top of the agenda?”
“The Minister of State indicated that there have been quota reductions across the board, but Irish fishermen have been hit with a 70% cut - the greatest of all. Basically, that is sending them home. People have massive debts having paid for trawlers. They are paying back bank loans they got in order that they might have the best trawlers available to allow them to compete. I am not referring to competing with super-trawlers from Norway, Spain and other countries that are stealing our fish. However, they bought those boats to allow them to compete in some way and to be safe out in our waters. This is a terrible infliction on them. When is the task force being set up? Has it held any meetings yet? As far as I am concerned, this is an urgent crisis that has, very unfairly, been foisted on Irish fishermen.”
“Surely there has to be some mechanism that can be used to lodge an appeal. The Hague preferences are there to provide protection, but this has not happened. The scientific evidence was used against Irish fishermen and to protect foreign trawlers. How is that going to be turned around?”
“It appears that there was scientific advice available, but the nature of that advice was to destroy the Irish fisheries, and it worked. They used that weapon to beat Irish fishermen out of Irish waters. It did not affect the quota of other countries that are taking fish from of Irish waters. I have often stated that between 16 and 18 articulated truckloads of Irish fish leave Castletownbere and head off through west Cork. There is no gain out of this, other than the council trying to repair the roads as a result of the damaged done by the articulated trucks going up and down with fish that have been taken from of our seas. People are telling me they cannot buy Irish fish. Irish fishermen are not allowed to fish in our waters. The bottom line is that the decision in this regard has to be appealed.”
“We know of the 70% losses that were announced in early December in the EU for Ireland's fishing quota. This 70% loss in our fishing quota means that 57,000 tonnes will be lost. What has been happening in Europe to turn matters around since this dreadful announcement was made? Are we taking legal action in the European courts in the context of the Hague preferences, which are a guarantee and safeguard and which appear to have been discarded?”
“The man is now stuck outside the country because the document was not processed in time. The relevant company was forced to send another highly skilled employee back to their home country due to red-tape issues that should never have arisen.”
“Since he has not got this card, he cannot travel home to India. He would not be allowed to re-enter Ireland without it. He has missed his brother's funeral. These delays trap people in limbo, despite the fact that they are legally resident here and contributing to essential services.”
“These are affecting individuals, employers and entire communities across the country. I have constituents in west Cork who have been in committed relationships for many years. One person has a fiancée who previously lived here with him, but circumstances required her to return to her home country. She has now re-entered Ireland on a short-term three-month visa, yet we are still waiting for clear information from the Department of justice on whether her de facto visa application will be accepted. This uncertainty is causing enormous stress for a genuine couple simply trying to build a life together. Another case involves an Indian national who has, in fairness to him, been working hard in Ireland for the past 20 years. He has been waiting months for his Garda National Immigration Bureau card to be issued.”
“The Irish people should decide whether this country accepts a pact that will impose new obligations, financial pressures and limits on our ability to manage migration in a fair and responsible way. My stance has not changed. In January 2026, I continue to raise concerns about comments by the EU Commissioner for migration, warning that Ireland risks being held up as an EU example without any regard for the pressures our communities are already feeling. We have a two-tier society. There are genuine, hard-working people in this country for whom we are fighting to get visas. We cannot get them, so the system is broken. The Government has continued to introduce a system that adds pressure. I want to highlight the very genuine, serious problems within our own immigration system.”
“On 19 June 2024, I spoke in the House against Ireland opting in to the EU migration and asylum pact. I made it clear then that this pact represented a serious erosion of Ireland's ability to control its own immigration policy and that its implications had not been honestly confronted. Just over a week later on 27 June 2024, I joined my Independent colleagues in voting against the pact. We did so because we believe that decisions of this scale, decisions that affect our sovereignty, our communities and the future direction of our country must not be handed over to Brussels without full accountability. That is why I also call for a national referendum.”
“People have contacting me day and night recently about the new regulations. They are going to destroy their chances. One question is being asked by them: do they need planning? If they need planning, that means they are finished. They know Airbnbs are being wiped out. All over west Cork, there are fantastic places offering a brilliant service to people, and the Government is going to destroy that industry.”
“It is one hit on top of the other. There are also new regulations I need to bring up. It brings me to the utter confusion and the fear new regulations have created in the construction sector. Many small contractors and subcontractors have been contacting me in recent days who are fearful of this January deadline. These contractors do not know if they will be deemed to be breaking the law in February by a change of status that is threatening them. This will drive up the costs, as contractors will have to now take on casual subcontractors as full-time employees just to cover the small-time work they have. There will be no infrastructure built if the Government throttles to death the contractors and subcontractors who are confused over it. I have to touch on Airbnb, which comes under housing as well.”
“We are talking about infrastructure here today. We brought forward a motion two weeks ago in relation to Uisce Éireann, and the Government voted against it. It really stood for accountability and timelines. When the Government is not willing to stand up to something like Uisce Éireann in terms of accountability and timelines, that says enough. It sends a clear message to me. There is a wastewater crisis all over west Cork. It has been 28 years in Shannonvale, 17 years in Dunmanway, Rosscarbery and Ballydehob, and 27 years in Goleen. There is no mains water pipe from Shannonvale to Roscarbery. It has burst; it bursts every so often. It broke down again during Christmas. People are in an awful state, and they are getting nowhere. It is only a small section of an area that needs to be done. Bantry experienced flooding in 1968 and in 2025.”
“The Government keeps saying it wants to target the resources. Here is a clear opportunity to do exactly that . It should not stop at one payment. We need to move away from those ad hoc crisis-driven reactions and finally put in place a proper permanent support framework that reflects the real documented cost of living with a disability in this country. If the Government will not back a once-off payment now, at the very least it should publish a clear timeline for permanent measures. People do not need headlines about proposals; they need a date, decisions and delivery. This is not an abstract policy debate. Across Cork, Limerick, Galway and Roscommon, families are asking the same questions: "Where is the support coming from and when is it coming?".”
“I thank the Social Democrats for tabling the motion. We fully support it. People with disabilities face extra costs every day. These are costs they cannot avoid. When winter hits, the pressure becomes even greater, especially with heating and energy bills rising again. Right now, households across the country are under serious strain. Energy costs are still one of the biggest drivers of hardship. For disabled people, those costs do not just stay the same when prices go up; they get worse. The supports they rely on do not stretch far enough and the bills keep climbing. That is why we support what the motion is seeking, namely targeted and practical help that people can feel the impact of straight away. A once-off winter payment would be direct and focused and would go to people who are carrying unavoidable extra burdens.”
“I plead to the people out there who have a mental health illness to look for help and seek help. They should talk to friends, talk to neighbours or talk to someone. I appreciate being given extra bit of time because it is a very serious issue. I know a lot of people are very ill with it. It is sad. It is very sad.”
“This is a failure of leadership and planning at the top. The system simply is not built to deal with mental health crises safely. Families come to us in absolute despair. They know their son, daughter or partner is suicidal but they cannot get them admitted anywhere. They are told the person themself has to seek help. Even when they do, the help often is not there, as I have just outlined. There is nothing worse than a family begging for help and being told there is nothing that can be done. We all know the pain of losing someone to suicide. Too many families in this country have been devastated by it. It is heartbreaking to think that some of those deaths could have been prevented if there were proper crisis supports, real crisis rooms, real alternatives to emergency departments and real follow-up care.”
“After the event is no good. There needs to be a massive rethink here as to how mental health issues are being dealt with in this country because it is certainly not working. That is a shocking indictment. It seems to me that people are only a number. When they are gone, they are gone and we move on. That is not the way it should be. If you were struck down with cancer or a heart ailment tomorrow morning, you would expect to get the medical treatment you deserve. A mental health situation is a medical issue but it is being ignored by Government continuously. We sometimes point the finger. I have great understanding for staff in mental health units because they are under immense pressure. It is a very difficult job and we all know it is not the fault of front-line staff who do their best in impossible conditions.”
“Basically, the person made a suicide attempt at home and was brought into hospital. He was supervised overnight in hospital and the following morning, the family were told to take him home or he would be dropped off by taxi. Good God almighty, the poor man was still saying he was in a crisis and needed help but he was sent home. The fact that there was self-harm involved meant he had to come back the next day and get medical treatment. Basically, as far as the hospital was concerned, the mental health side of it was finished with. It was not. This man was still in a dreadful position in life. People in that situation need help, and it is not there. This goes back years. A relation of mine was in the same situation but the help was not there. There were a lot of phone calls after the event but that is no good to anybody.”
“I welcome this hugely important motion. I have been fighting in the business committee to have a discussion in the House on mental health services. It is certainly an emergency. I think every TD in this Chamber knows the reality. When people are in a mental health crisis there is almost nowhere for them to go. We see it in our clinics every single week. Deputy O'Donoghue said we have to get this right. Sadly, it is not right. It is a broken system, an absolute disastrous system, to be honest. I have had family members very close to me commit suicide but I also have a constituent who recently tried to commit suicide. The astonishing situation was that I was asked to help and, my God, I could do nothing. I asked two Ministers to help and they could do nothing. That is a serious situation.”
“Families here in Ireland are dealing with housing shortages, hospital waiting lists, rising prices and failing infrastructure but the Government has not explained why we should be taking an open-ended financial commitment overseas when so much needs fixing here at home. Taxpayers deserve transparency, accountability and value for money, none of which are guaranteed in this proposal. That is why it cannot be supported. The amendment we put forward makes sure Ireland's role is strictly limited to humanitarian and civilian support. It rules out any involvement, even indirect, in military funding. It requires full Dáil oversight and strong protection for taxpayers' money. It makes one thing crystal clear: any change to neutrality must be decided by the Irish people. This is about protecting Ireland's independence in foreign policy decisions.”
“It opens the door to EU borrowing and systems that could end up supporting military spending, even indirectly. Ireland is a neutral country. That is not a slogan; it is a long-held principle and it belongs to the people, not to any government and not to Brussels. If there is any move to weaken neutrality, sidestep the triple lock or tie Ireland into military financing, the people deserve a say. That means a referendum, and that certainly has not happened here. Using enhanced operation as a way to push through something that does not have full agreement is mission creep. It is a workaround and people can see it.”
“We can all agree that what Russia did in Ukraine was wrong. It was illegal, it was brutal and innocent people have paid the highest price. Ireland has always supported international law and that should never be in question. However, saying an invasion is wrong does not mean we should sign up to anything and everything that is put in front of us, and it certainly does not mean we should allow our tradition of military neutrality to be chipped away at without people being told what is happening. The Government is asking this House to approve an EU loan scheme without clear guarantees, proper safeguards or straight answers on where Irish taxpayers' money might end up. That is not good enough. This scheme is not just about humanitarian aid.”
“To delete all words after "relentlessly attacked; and" and substitute the following: "— Irish taxpayers are facing severe pressures at home in housing, healthcare, infrastructure and cost of living, and overseas financial commitments must be assessed against those realities, and therefore calls on the Government to prepare and lay, before each House of the Oireachtas, a quarterly report outlining the operation and expenditure of the loan facilities granted under the proposed enhanced cooperation Loan for Ukraine, for the duration of its existence; and therefore, resolves to restrict our participation in lending money to Ukraine, under this enhanced cooperation proposal, strictly to transparent, civilian humanitarian and non-military purposes only, subject to full Dáil Éireann oversight, value-for-money guarantees, and binding safeguards, to ensure no Irish funds are used directly or indirectly for military or arms-related purposes, and that Ireland shall not participate in this enhanced cooperation where such safeguards cannot be assured.".”
“To insert the following after "discarded in this instance;": “— the use of enhanced cooperation in this manner risks undermining democratic oversight, budgetary scrutiny and the role of national parliaments;” E.”
“I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 1: A. To insert the following after "expansion and imperialist ambitions": ", constituting a serious breach of international law and the sovereignty of a United Nations member state; B. To insert the following after "rights of the Ukrainian people": "and is grounded in international law and the protection of civilians;". C. To insert the following after "does not provide military aid": "and cannot be drawn, directly or indirectly, into military financing arrangements; — Ireland's policy of military neutrality is a core element of our foreign policy and any change to that position requires the consent of the Irish people in a referendum;". D.”
“Will the Taoiseach categorically state to this House whether that claim is true or false? If false, will he confirm that no such deal ever existed? Anything less than a clear answer leaves farmers entitled to conclude that something is being withheld.”
“This is a straightforward question and Irish farmers deserve a straightforward answer. Did the Taoiseach or any member of his Government give any commitment or assurance, or make any side deal, formal or informal, to the European Commission to support, facilitate or not obstruct the approval of the Mercosur trade agreement? Yes or no? While on an official visit to China, the Taoiseach made statements that were widely understood at EU level as supporting Mercosur. Within 24 hours, that position changed. What exactly happened in that 24-hour period? What information emerged? What decision was taken, or what agreement fell apart that explains the reversal? There are claims circulating in Brussels that Ireland reneged on an understanding with the Commission to back Mercosur.”
“Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle. We had a 70% cut on the mackerel fishing quota and the whitefish - haddock - close to the beginning of December, I think. A task force was meant to be set up but from that day until now, we do not seem to have heard anything. The fishing industry has very serious concerns that it is going to be forgotten yet again.”
“We did succeed, and there is no point in my being critical here, in relation to Adrigole. I know there is no bucket on the ground yet but we have to look at the positive side of the messages being sent. However, it is hard to get that message. Lord God, it is like squeezing blood out of a turnip, and none of us can do that, to get a straight answer from Uisce Éireann. If the Minister of State were to see some of the nonsensical, generic answers I am getting, it is not good enough. The Government is pumping the billions into this so it will have to sit down and get answers, get accountability, get a timeline, and the people of Shannonvale, Rosscarbery, Dunmanway, Ballydehob and Goleen might have something to look forward to rather than an endless disgrace.”
“We brought people from all over the world who had property and who would have worked with the local authority at that time to try to see if we could put in place a new wastewater treatment plant and we were not able to do so. There is raw sewage still pouring into the tide in Goleen - imagine that - since 1999. It is astonishing. The EPA is asleep at the wheel. It is quite happy to accept all of what goes on because it is like a scam. That is all you can call it. I keep saying that. If a farmer's house is not in order and his cattle house is leaking raw slurry into the river, he is put out of business, he is closed down and he moves on. There is no acceptability on it, and there probably should not be, but it seems to be a law for one and not for another.”
“We had a motion here last week in relation to Irish Water. Anyone who looked seriously at the motion would see it was simply put: accountability and timelines. The Minister of State's side refused to agree to that motion. It was very simple. They could have made an adjustment, they could have done something about it but they did not want to because the Government does not want accountability. It is aiding and abetting Uisce Éireann from avoiding accountability. The Minister of State knows this as well as I do. He is from the same constituency as me. Talk to the people of Shannonvale, Rosscarbery, Dunmanway, Ballydehob and Goleen. I joined the community council in Goleen in 1999. I am still on the community council.”
“They have had ample opportunity. It is my turn to talk. The Minister of State can talk after. They have had ample opportunity to take them and sit down with them and talk to those MEPs and they have not done that.”
“Good God, this is not good enough. We have a Fianna Fáil MEP, Barry Andrews, who is after doing the same. Has the Government any Whip or any control over them? Are they out of control in Europe? Ming Flanagan failed to turn up today to vote for the people, despite all the oul social media nonsense he has every day of the week telling us what he is doing for the people. He forgot to turn up today to vote for the Irish people. These MEPs are becoming traitors to our own country. The Government has to stand up to them. The Government parties are afraid of them. It is going on long enough. They are afraid of them.”
“He has written to every Spanish and Italian MEP, in their language, to tell them what a crisis this will bring to Europe, but some of our European leaders are going to defy the reality of the deal. Sadly, we come back to our own MEPs. What happened to Maria Walsh today? Did she get stung in the finger? She voted against this legal challenge today. We have Fine Gael all over the bloody place on this deal. Regina Doherty and Sean Kelly backed the German leader today. They backed an Ursula von der Leyen deal against the Irish people.”
“A clear and unequivocal statement by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste on the validity and standing of the European Parliament vote today and the objection of Ireland to any provisional implementation is needed. There should be a clear and unequivocal statement at the next European Council meeting that any move to bring forward a provisional implementation of the EU-Mercosur trade deal will now be a red-line issue for this State, and a move to seek support from all other member states in the enforcement of the correct procedures, with direct meetings in member states, attended and verified by all Irish MEPs. Our MEP is out there single-handedly tearing this apart.”
“Merz, are: The European Parliament’s decision on the Mercosur Agreement is regrettable. It misjudges the geopolitical situation. We are convinced of the agreement’s legality. No more delays. The agreement must now be applied provisionally. It is now time to get our Taoiseach and Tánaiste going. This is no disrespect to the Minister of State. He is doing his part and doing it as best he can, but it is an astonishing situation that the German leader has decided that he will not agree to this. He thinks he is not going to agree to this, but it is up to the leaders of our country to say this is a red-line issue. He has no choice but to agree to it.”
“I invite the Minister of State to recognise the democratic decision of the European Parliament today to refer the EU Mercosur deal to the European courts for legal analysis. Our MEP, Ciaran Mullooly, and his team will now work with fellow MEPs to ensure that the targets set out in the programme for Government can be delivered and that our Government will continue to work with like-minded countries to oppose the Mercosur trade deal. We are concerned about reports from Strasbourg this afternoon, which I have talked to Ciaran Mullooly about, about how the European Commission may now decide to attempt some form of provisional implementation of the deal before it returns to the European courts, despite clear parameters and guidelines about such a scenario. The comments made specifically by the German prime minister, Mr.”
“The problem we have is that a lot of international decisions can be made in a very soft and easier way initially, for example, the Mercosur deal and the appalling carry-on that is going on there. The Minister of State will know that Ciaran Mullooly has been out there fighting, nearly single-handedly, to swing this decision around. Thankfully, the challenge through the European courts will go ahead. Will the Minister of State get the Taoiseach and Tánaiste involved to go out to Europe? I invite him to recognise the democratic decision of the European Parliament because the German leader decided today that it was not democracy at all. We are talking about democracy being thrown in the bin, but that is a true challenge to our democracy.”
“The international situation is changing by the minute. These developments are a cause of huge concern to the Irish people and are causing huge concern across the world. Threats are being made to innocent people, which is something we as a neutral country must always condemn. We must always support those who are in great difficulty and continue to do that. There are a lot of calls for the Taoiseach not to go to Washington. I do not agree with that. It is a hugely important moment and if we break that, we could break it for the future. That is something this country cannot afford to do. We certainly have to raise concerns. In fact, those concerns have to be raised; there is no issue about that. Staying outside the door is a bad and negative move. I would never approve of that.”
“Certainly, employees are working hard, but they are finding it difficult to travel on the roads we have with the condition they are in. Public transport is another area and while some progress is being made, it is not enough.”
“My brother, Councillor Danny Collins, called for emergency funding last week because the roads are in an atrocious condition in west Cork. People send me pictures of potholes when the two front wheels or back wheels of their cars go into them, or they lose part of their cars inside them. The point I am trying to make is about the northern relief road, the southern relief road, the Bandon relief road, the Innishannon relief road, the Bantry relief road - none of them have been worked on. People are spending time in cars that they do not need to spend. If they can spend that time working from home, it will certainly benefit them, but there is not a one-size-fits-all approach here. I am very aware of that. Some employers have concerns about this Bill going forward and we need to maybe iron out those concerns.”
“Independent Ireland would support flexible remote working where it is genuinely practical, and I say genuinely practical. It should be agreed, obviously, with the employer, which would be hugely important to a lot of employers, but it is not an enforcement. I see where it has benefited my own community where quite a lot of people come from all over the world, never mind other parts of west Cork, to live and work remotely. Deputy O'Flynn mentioned connectivity. We are lucky to have a great mobile broadband company in west Cork called Digital Forge, which has made sure that everybody is connected down there. However, the phone service is not great in many places and that is something we need to look into. I also have concerns about a lot of people who travel the length and breadth of the roads in west Cork.”
“There is strange carry-on going on behind the scenes that I would like to get to the bottom of but if I opened the can, there would be worms flying everywhere. There are people who get home help in the evenings and the home helps are calling at 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. and putting the person to bed. There seems to be no allowance for people who would like to go to bed later. CoAction is adopting a new method for training their recruits called "earn as you learn" whereby those who are training to work as home support workers with CoAction do not have to have a QQI level 5 in order to apply for the position. They do the practical work with an experienced qualified support worker, study in the evenings and get paid from get-go.”
“In another case, a young man, again from west Cork - I have the addresses here but I do not like reading out addresses because it might identify someone - is farming and caring for his mother who has dementia. He can only get home help Monday to Friday. There is no home help at the weekends. He wishes that farming was a five-day week job but it is not. Another case features a gentleman in a retirement village in west Cork who is looking for home help for his wife who has numerous medical issues. He is unable to get the home help. The bottom line is that the home helps can do the extra hours but they will not be given them. Those at the top tell me that there are no home help hours available.”
“I just had a case where an 82-year-old man in west Cork with stage 4 cancer has been discharged from Bantry Hospital after three months and cannot get home help. This gentleman needs help with personal care and administering his medication but there is no home help available to this vulnerable man. In another case, a gentleman in west Cork has been waiting for over four months for home help. The HSE is unable to provide it as it has no staff available. That is what we are being told. Private operators, such as Bluebird Care, that work for the HSE were unable to provide it due to the lack of staff. Interestingly, Bluebird could provide it if the family were to pay privately, rather than through the HSE.”
“If they get sick, take a holiday or need a day off, they are expected to arrange their own cover without proper rosters. They are missing out on overtime and other entitlements. That is a direct loss of income for people who are already stretched. These workers are not asking for anything extra; they are simply asking for management to honour their contracts, proper 39-hour rosters issued four weeks in advance, and agencies used only when absolutely necessary. In my own constituency, families waited months for basic home help hours. An older person should not have to choose between a nursing home they do not want and no support at home. Independent Ireland stands for safe care, fair care and a real choice to age at home.”
“This Bill does not deliver a single extra hour of support. You cannot regulate your way out of the staffing and beds crisis. Once again, family carers are invisible. There is no relief, no supports and no move to end the means test. Home help workers, who have been doing an incredible job, are being contracted for one set of hours, and then pressurised to work far more. A worker might have a 20-hour contract on paper, something that affects their mortgage and family life but is regularly pushed to work 30 hours or more. Others with 39-hour contracts are only given 30 hours in a week, with the rest pushed into the next. Split shifts are now routine. Workers sit at home, unpaid for hours, only to be called back out while the agency staff are being brought in to fill gaps.”