Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I would certainly be concerned about any measure that would increase costs for employers. That is a view I hold personally. Equally, however, I recognise that the management of very high illness claims within our welfare system is something that needs to be addressed. Many of those problems are most acute in the public service, not in the private sector. Figures suggest that absenteeism in the public service is double that in the private sector.

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