Is this the end for zero-hour contracts?

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar wants to legislate to ban zero-hour contracts and to promote employment conditions that deliver well-paid jobs with pensions, writes Paul Mills. 

Such aspirations are fine and dandy but do not take into account the reality of the workplace in Ireland.

A zero-hour contract of employment is one which does not specify the working hours. Under such a contract, the employee must be available for work but does not have specified hours of work. The contract requires the employee to be available for a certain number of hours per week, or when required, or a combination of both.