New Morning? Irish Labour Law Post-Austerity

Abstract

This article charts the trajectory of Irish labour law from 2007, at the point at which the economic, political and social crisis that has engulfed Europe and much of the Western world for much of the past decade, began to manifest, through the years of “austerity” and the European Union-International Monetary Fund (EU-IMF) programme of financial assistance. The article reflects on the position now, as Ireland, and Europe, slowly emerges from austerity. It looks at the future labour law agendas that might be forged in Ireland, within the context of developments in EU law. The article looks, first, at the features of the Irish labour law model (from the perspective of individual and collective rights) that had developed, when the global economic recession hit in 2007, traces the changes that occurred during the “crisis years” until 2014, and looks at a series of recent legislative and policy developments that have taken root in 2015. The developments in Ireland, in terms of the development of (individual and collective) labour law protections, and the enforcement and vindication of worker rights, are set in the context of European Union level developments relating to worker rights, socio-economic governance, and employment standard-setting.