Mr. Neil McDonnell:

Of course. For people who are ill and not able to attend work there is a logical and understandable expectation that they get paid. In the context of talking about transferring the burden of statutory sick pay from the State to the employer, it is interesting that it is only now that we are talking about ending it. Not alone are we talking about increasing the entitlement we are talking about ending the waiting days. One can see immediately that there is a notion that employers are capable of shouldering a burden that even the State refuses to pay. I would ask the Senator to bear that in mind.

On the piece he raised about nursing homes, and especially during Covid, we have seen how important nursing homes are to the fabric of the State. Those nursing homes go through public tendering to provide services, especially on the fair deal scheme, to the State. It is worth asking how many of those providers are allowed to insert into their contract for service a 4.2% allowance, for example, for sick pay for their workers? If they do not include an element of assumed sick pay within their pricing, then where is that money meant to come from? I ask that the Senator bears that in mind.