Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Senator will be familiar with the position relating to sick pay. She and others introduced a Bill, which we debated, and the Government gave a commitment to enter into a process to bring that to a conclusion. The Tánaiste stated that he wanted to see changes in the area of sick pay and committed to introducing a sick pay scheme. That kicked off a process spanning a few months involving the stakeholders. That was followed by a public consultation and we are now in a strong position to propose legislation in March or April 2021. A similar process was agreed in this area.

The Senator asked about the Company Law Review Group. A commitment was made on 1 July in the programme for Government to carry out a review. We discussed that as well as a commitment to focus on employment law. This matter came up for discussion again in the context of the Debenhams case. We began the work this work months ago, not two weeks ago. The Company Law Review Group is committed to reporting in December.

Regarding employment law, a few weeks ago, the Department assumed functions around employment law legislation and everything associated with it. We are in a strong position to bring forward suggested changes in the coming weeks, which will be effective in strengthening the position. That does not mean we are saying all six proposals are worthwhile or can be implemented. In the past, a decision was made not to implement them. We are considering these proposals and others to strengthen the legislation. The Senator has asked about concrete steps. We are in the middle of this and it would be wrong of me to produce a list of actions today. I am not in the business of doing that.